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tihx<^xy  of  t:he  t:heolo0ical  ^eminarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

PURCHASED  BY  THE 

MRS.  ROBERT  LENOX  KENNEDY 

CHURCH  HISTORY  FUND 

BV  167  .Mil  1896 
Macalister,  Robert  Alexander 
Stewart,  1870-1950. 
-  Ecclesiastical  vestments 


ECCLESIASTICAL   VESTMENTS 


EDITED    BY 

G.    LAURENCE  GOMME,    F.S.A., 

AND 

T.    FAIRMAN  ORDISH,    F.S.A. 


Brass  of  Simon  de  Wenslagh  (circ.  1360),  Wensley, 
Yorkshire  (showing  the  Eucharistic  vestments  of  a  priest  of 
the  Western  Church). 


THE   CAMDEN  LI  BR  ART 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VESTMENTS 


^hcir  Bebclopmcitt  anb  2|tstarB 


BV 

R.    A.   S.    MACALISTER,    M.A. 

Member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Ireland 


LONDON : 
ELLIOT  STOCK,  62,  PATERNOSTER  ROW 

1896 


P  REFACE 


WITHIN  comparatively  recent  years  the 
discovery  has  been  made  that  it  is 
possible  to  treat  the  Bible,  for  critical 
purposes,  as  though  it  were  an  ordinary  item  of 
national  literature,  while  maintaining  a  fitting 
reverence  for  it  as  the  inspired  Word  ;  and  that 
by  so  doing  a  flood  of  sidelight  is  cast  upon  it 
which  illuminates  the  obscurity  of  some  of  its  most 
dlflicult  passages. 

So,  to  compare  lesser  things  with  greater,  it  is 
possible  and  advisable  to  discard  all  feeling  of 
ecclesiastlclsm  (so  to  term  it)  when  speaking  of 
ecclesiastical  antiquities.  The  science  of  eccle- 
siology  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth,  and 
it  has  hitherto  suffered  much  at  the  hands  of 
those  who  have  approached  it  not  so  much  to 
learn  the  plain  lessons  it  teaches,  as  to  force  it  to 
declare  the  existence  or  non-existence  in  early  or 


viii  Preface. 

mediaeval  times  of  certain  rites  and  observances. 
While  we  should  treat  ancient  churches  and  their 
furniture  with  respect — a  respect  which  should 
not  be  denied  to  the  despised,  though  often  quaint 
and  interesting,  high  pews  and  west  galleries — 
as  being  edifices  or  instruments  formed  for  the 
use  of  the  worshippers  of  God,  yet  for  antiquarian 
purposes  they  should  be  examined  and  dissected  in 
exactly  the  same  spirit  as  that  in  which  we  investi- 
gate the  temples  of  ancient  Greece,  or  the  stone 
weapons  of  prehistoric  man.  In  this  spirit  the 
author  of  the  present  book  has  worked. 

Ecclesiology,  besides  its  sentimental  connection 
with  ecclesiasticism,  possesses  many  features  which 
render  it  the  most  popular  branch  of  the  great 
all-embracing  science  of  archaeology.  The  objects 
with  which  it  is  concerned  appeal  strongly  to  the 
senses  ;  the  finest  works  of  the  architect,  the 
limner,  the  silversmith,  the  engraver,  the  em- 
broiderer, the  illuminator,  and  the  musician,  come 
within  its  scope  ;  they  are  accessible  to  all  who 
live  within  reach  of  an  ancient  church  or  a 
moderately  good  museum,  and  the  pleasant  ex- 
cursions and  companionships  with  which  its  votaries 
are  favoured  invest  its  pursuit  with  the  happiest 
associations.  Above  all,  it  lacks  that  terrible 
obstacle  which  lies  at  the  threshold  of  almost 
every  other  subject  of  serious  archaeological  study 
—  the  necessity  of  attaining  perfection  in  at  least 


Preface.  ix 

one  foreign  language.  No  one  can  form  more 
than  the  merest  dilettante  acquaintance  with  the 
antiquities  of  India,  Egypt,  Greece,  Ireland,  or  any- 
other  country,  without  mastering  the  language  in 
which  the  records  of  the  country  are  written  ;  but 
the  merest  smattering  of  mediaeval  dog-Latin  is 
quite  sufficient  to  open  the  door  to  high  (not, 
perhaps,  the  highest')  attainments  in  ecclesiology. 

These  manifold  attractions  have  resulted  in 
hampering  the  study  of  ecclesiology  with  a  serious 
drawback,  which  is  wanting  in  nearly  all  the  other 
branches  of  archaeology.  The  investigation  of  the 
marvellous  antiquities  of  the  four  countries  just 
mentioned  —  or,  indeed,  of  almost  any  other 
country — can  be  undertaken  by  a  student  with 
the  certainty  that  if  he  applies  himself  to  it  suffi- 
ciently to  master  the  many  difficulties  which  will, 
no  doubt,  present  themselves,  he  will  be  in  a 
position  to  break  ground  as  yet  untouched  ;  his 
knowledge  will  enable  him  to  make  original 
discoveries  of  his  own.  But  it  is  far  otherwise  in 
ecclesiology.  So  easily  understood  are  the  facts  of 
the  subject  (except  in  a  few  obscure  points  relating 
to  the  early  Church)  ;  so  definite  are  the  statements 
of  the  numberless  records,  when  the  vagaries  of 
symbolical  theorizers  are  sifted  away  from  them  ; 
so  countless  has  been,  and  is,  the  army  of  students, 
that  the  scope  for  research-work  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum  ;  hardly  anything  is  left  for  the  originally- 


X  Preface, 

minded  worker  but  to  discover  the  personal  names 
of  the  different  artists  whose  handiworks  he  sees 
before  him,  or  else  to  propound  some  startling  and 
revolutionary  theory  respecting  the  use  of  low-side 
windows  or  Easter  sepulchres. 

In  the  subdivision  of  ecclesiology  with  which 
this  book  is  concerned,  originality,  whether  of  fact 
or  treatment,  is  practically  impossible.  This  work 
cannot  claim  to  be  more  than  a  compilation,  but  it 
can  claim  to  fill  a  space  not  exactly  occupied  by 
any  other  book,  in  that  it  gives  in  a  brief  and 
convenient  form  the  principal  facts  connected  with 
vestments  and  their  use  throughout  the  chief  sub- 
divisions of  the  Christian  Church  ;  it  is  not,  as  are 
almost  all  other  works  on  the  subject,  confined  to 
one  branch  only,  or  at  most  to  the  great  Churches 
of  the  West  and  the  East,  but  includes  as  well  the 
smaller  and  more  isolated  communities,  and  those 
branches  of  the  Universal  Church  which  have 
undergone  reformation. 

Exception  may  possibly  be  taken  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  alleged  symbolism  of  vestments  has 
been  treated.  But  it  is  impossible  to  overlook  the 
facts.  If,  as  is  now  the  opinion  of  every  leading 
ecclesiologist,  the  vestments  are  the  natural  result 
of  evolution  from  civil  Roman  costume,  it  is 
clearly  ludicrous  to  suppose  that  when  they  were 
first  worn  they  possessed  the  symbolical  meanings 
they  are    alleged    to  bear ;    the   symbolism   is  as 


Preface.  xi 

much  an  accretion  as  are  the  jewels  and  the  em- 
broidery of  the  middle  ages.  Moreover,  the 
symbolical  meanings  attached  to  them  are  so 
obviously  the  '  private  judgments'  of  the  writers 
who  describe  them,  and  are  so  irreconcilable  and 
so  far-fetched,  that  to  the  unbiased  mind  they  do 
not  appear  worthy  of  serious  treatment. 

In  some  recent  books  on  ecclesiological  and 
antiquarian  matters  Greek  words  are  transliterated 
into  English  characters.  This  practice  has  not 
been  followed  in  the  present  work  because  of  the 
unsatisfactory  appearance  of  Greek  words  in  Roman 
dress,  and  because  the  Greek  alphabet  is  familiar 
to  all  students.  Words  of  other  languages,  such 
as  Russian  or  Armenian,  are,  however,  expressed  in 
English  letters,  as  their  alphabets  are  not  so  well 
known,  and  they  are  not  so  easily  set  up  in  native 
type. 

I  must  record  my  indebtedness  to  my  lamented 
friend  the  late  Prof.  Middleton  for  useful  hints  and 
assistance  ;  to  Dr  F.  R.  Fairbank,  of  St  Leonard' s- 
on-Sea,  for  many  notes  and  references  which  have 
been  of  great  value  to  me,  and  especially  for  the 
loan  of  several  blocks  ;  to  Mr  W.  J.  Kaye  for 
the  loan  of  a  rubbing  of  the  Sessay  brass  ;  to  the 
Rev.  S.  Schechter  for  kind  assistance  in  questions 
which  arose  in  the  first  chapter ;  to  the  Rev. 
A.  D.  A.  van  Scheltema  for  information  regarding 
the  Church  of  Holland  ;  and  for  many  helps  and 


Xll 


Preface. 


suggestions  to  my  father,  to  whom,  in  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  interest  he  has  throughout  shown 
in  the  preparation  of  the  book,  I  wish  to  dedicate 
it.  A  list  of  the  principal  works  laid  under  con- 
tribution is  given  in  an  Appendix. 

R.  A.  S.  M. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   GENESIS    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    VESTMENTS 

CHAPTER  H. 

THE    EARLY    DEVELOPiMENT    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    VEST- 
MENTS   IN    THE    WESTERN    CHURCH  -  -  24 

CHAPTER  HI. 

THE    FINAL     FORM     OF    VESTMENTS     IN    THE    WESTERN 


CHURCH 


60 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  HISTORY  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PRO- 
CESSIONAL VESTMENTS  ;  THE  ORNAMENTATION 
OF    VESTMENTS       -  -  -  -  "137 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE    VESTMENTS    OF    THE    EASTERN    CHURCHES  -       1 75 


xiv  Contents, 


APPENDIX  I. 


PAGE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    VESTMENTS    OF   THE    REFORMED    CHURCHES  -       1 92 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    RITUAL    USES    OF    VESTMENTS         -  -  -       2  11 


COSTUMES    OF   THE    RELIGIOUS    ORDERS  -  235 

MEDIAEVAL   UNIVERSITY    COSTUME         -  -  -253 

APPENDIX  II. 

AN    INDEX    OF    SYNONYMOUS    TERMS      -  -  -257 

APPENDIX  III. 

A    LIST    OF    THE     PRINCIPAL   AUTHORITIES    REFERRED 

TO    IN    THE    COMPILATION    OF   THIS    WORK  -       258 

INDEX  ------       262 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


{For  full  titles  of  sources  follozved  see  Appendix  III) 

PIG.  PAGE 

BRASS   OF   SLMON   DE   WENSLAGH,  WENSLEY,  YORKS 

Fro7itispiece 

1.  VESTMENTS   OF   THE  JEWISH    PRIESTHOOD.      {After 

Bock)  -  -  -  .  -  _  ^ 

2.  BISHOP    ADxMINISTERING    BAPTISM.       {Marriott)       -         37 

3.  ECCLESIASTICS    FROM    THE    MOSAICS    IN    S    VITALE, 

RAVENNA.       {Rock)  -  -  -  -         46 

4.  EFFIGY     OF     A     ROMAN      CITIZEN      IN      CAERLEON 

MUSEUM,     {B/oxam)    -  -  -  -       49 

5.  POPE      GREGORY      THE     GREAT      WITH      PASTORAL 

STAFF.     {Smith  and  Cheetham)  -  -       57 

6.  STOLE-ENDS,        SHOWING       VARIETIES       IN       FORM 

AND    ORNAMENT.     {ArchcBological   Association 
/ourftal)  -  -  -  -  -       73 

7.  ARCHBISHOP       STIGAND,        FROM        THE        BAYEUX 

TAPESTRY.     ( Willemin)  -  -  -       76 

8.  DEACON     IN     EPISCOPAL     DALMATIC.         {BuHdiflg 

News)  -  -  -  -  -       78 

9.  DEACON    IN    DIAGONAL    DALMATIC.       {Rock)  -         78 
10.    SIR   PETER  LEGH,  KNIGHT  AND  PRIEST.       {Huines)         84 


xvi  List  of  Illustrations, 


FIG. 


PAGE 


11.  BISHOP  WAYNFLETE's  EPISCOPAL   SANDAL. .     {Rock)  92 

12.  S    DUNSTAN     (fROM     A     MS.      IN     THE     COTTONIAN 

library).     {Marriott)              -             -             -  97 

13.  MONUMENT     OF     ALBRECHT    VON      BRANDENBURG, 

MAYENCE              -                 -                 -                  -                  -  I 01 

14.  BISHOP  WAYNFLETE's  EPISCOPAL  STOCKING.    {Rock)  I05 

15.  FIGURE    OF    A    POPE   {temp.  INNOCENT   III).     {Rock)  108 

16.  A    BISHOP,    SALISBURY   CATHEDRAL.       {BloxaUl)      -  II7 

17.  MONUMENT  OF  DIETHER  VON  ISENBURG,  MAYENCE  II  7 

18.  PASTORAL  STAFF  AND  MITRA  PRETIOSA.     {Bloxani)  1  20 

19.  BRASS    OF    ARCHDEACON    MAGNUS,     SESSAY,    YORK- 

SHIRE ------  147 

20.  BRASS      OF      ROBERT     BRASSIE,     KING'S      COLLEGE, 

CAMBRIDGE         -                 -                  -                  -                  "  ^S© 

21.  CHRYSOME    CHILD.       {Haities)           -                  -                 -  1 72 
2  2.    A     COPE-CHEST,     YORK     MINsTER.       {ArchcCologLCal 

Associatiofi  Journal)    -             -             -             -  i73 

23.  ARMENIAN  PRIEST.     {Fortcscue)    -  -  -177 

24.  MALABAR    PRIEST.       {Howard)         -                  -                  -  1  78 
25-28.    ILLUSTRATIONS     OF     ECCLESIASTICS      OF       THE 

EASTERN   CHURCH.      {King)       -  -  179-185 

29.  A    SYNOD    MEETING    OF    THE    REFORMED    CHURCH 

OF    FRANCE.       {Quick)  -                 -                 -                 -  205 

30.  DEACON  IN  FOLDED  CHASUBLE,  WELLS  CATHEDRAL. 

{Archceologia)  -              -             -              -             -  216 


ECCLESIASriCAL  VESTMENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    GENESIS    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    VESTMENTS. 

THE  Study  of  ecclesiastical  history  or  an- 
tiquities can  be  pursued  from  either  of 
two  Standpoints.  We  may  take  into 
account  those  essentially  religious  or  theological 
elements  which  distinguish  this  subject  from  all 
other  branches  of  antiquarian  science,  and  keep 
them  prominently  before  us  during  our  investiga- 
tions ;  or  else,  disregarding  those  elements  more  or 
less  completely,  we  may  consider  the  subject  wholly 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  antiquary. 

As  a  general  rule,  those  investigators  who  lay 
stress  on  the  ecclesiastical  rather  than  on  the 
antiquarian  side  of  ecclesiology  and  its  various 
subdivisions  have  been  attracted  to  the  study  not 
so  much  by  the  intrinsic  interest  which,  in  some 

I 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


degree,  every  branch  of  archaeology  possesses,  as 
by  the  wish  to  settle  controversial  questions  relating 
to  Church  doctrine,  usage,  or  discipline.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  important  section  of  eccle- 
siology  with  which  these  pages  are  concerned. 
There  are  two  schools  into  which  the  students  of 
Church  vestments  may  be  divided — the  ritualistic 
and  the  antiquarian.  Each  strives  to  attain  full 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  the  means  employed 
by  both  schools  are  the  same — the  evidence  drawn 
from  a  patient  comparison  of  the  works  of  authors 
and  artists  of  successive  periods.  But  while  those 
of  the  purely  antiquarian  school  regard  the  know- 
ledge thus  gained  as  in  itself  the  chief  end  of  their 
researches,  those  of  the  other  consider  it  rather  as 
a  stepping-stone,  leading  to  proofs  of  the  Divine 
appointment  of  the  use  of  vestments,  and  in- 
dicating regulations  to  govern  the  usage  of  vest- 
ments in  the  modern  Church. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  results  of  the  in- 
vestigations of  two  schools,  having  aims  so  diverse 
in  view,  should  be  mutually  incompatible.  Accord- 
ing to  the  views  of  some  members  of  the  ritualistic 
school,  the  vestments  of  the  Christian  Church  were 
modelled  directly  upon  the  vestments  of  the  Jewish 
priesthood ;  and  as  minute  instructions  for  the 
shapes  and  usage  of  the  latter  were  laid  down  in 
the  divinely-revealed  laws  of  Moses,  they  thus 
claim  an  at  least  indirect  Divine  appointment  for 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.     3 

the  Christian  vestments.  The  antiquarian  party, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  unanimous  in  holding  that 
the  vestments  of  the  Christian  Church  were  evolved, 
by  a  natural  process,  from  the  ordinary  costume  of 
a  Roman  citizen  of  the  first  or  second  century  of 
our  era. 

The  consideration  of  these  two  theories  must 
first  occupy  our  attention.  Neither  is  absolutely 
correct ;  for,  although  the  balance  of  probability 
is  enormously  in  favour  of  the  second  view,  yet 
this  theory,  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  often 
stated,  does  not  cover  certain  changes  which 
were  made  in  the  textures,  outlines,  and  number 
of  the  vestments  while  the  Church  was  yet  com- 
paratively young.  These  changes  were  all  intro- 
duced to  assimilate,  as  far  as  possible,  the  Jewish 
and  Christian  systems  ;  and  thus  it  may  be  said 
that  both  views  contain  an  element  of  truth. 

The  theory  of  a  Levitical  origin  is  the  older  ot 
the  two  ;  in  fact,  it  was  the  first,  and  for  many 
years  the  only,  solution  proposed.  We  shall 
therefore  at  the  outset  devote  a  page  or  two  to 
considering  its  merits.  Very  few,  even  among  the 
students  of  the  ritualistic  school,  now  hold  it 
absolutely.  The  weight  of  argument  which  can 
be  brought  to  bear  against  it  is  so  great  that  it  is 
almost  universally  abandoned  as  untenable. 

For  comparative  purposes,  it  will  be  necessary 
at    this    stage    to    introduce    a    short    descriptive 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


catalogue  of  the  vestments  of  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, as  prescribed  in  the  Book  of  Exodus  (chap, 
xxviii).  Josephus  (*  Antiquities,'  iii  7)  is  also  a 
locus  classicus  on  the  subject,  and  some  additional 
particulars  from  that  source  are  here  incorporated  : 

I.  The  Drawers  or  '  Breeches  '  of  Linen, 

II.  The  Tunic  of  Linen  ('  coat  of  fine  linen,' 
Exod.  xxviii  39). — Josephus  tells  us  that  this 
tunic  was  of  fine  linen  or  flax  doubled  ;  that  it 
reached  to  the  feet,  fitting  close  to  the  body,  and 
was  furnished  with  tight  sleeves.  It  was  girded 
to  the  breast,  a  little  above  the  level  of  the 
elbows,  by 

III.  The  Girdle. — This  was  a  strip  of  linen 
which,  according  to  Josephus,  was  four  fingers 
broad  ;  according  to  Maimonides,*  three  fingers 
broad  and  thirty-two  cubits  long.  It  was  wound 
many  times  round  the  body  ;  the  ends  were  then 
tied  over  the  breast  and  hung  down  to  the  feet, 
except  when  the  priest  was  engaged  in  sacrifice  or 
other  service,  in  which  case  he  threw  it  over  his 
left  shoulder,  so  that  it  should  not  impede  him  in 
his  duty.  It  was  elaborately  embroidered  with 
flowers,  worked  in  scarlet,  purple,  and  blue 
threads. 

*  Mishneh  Torah,  VIII,  section  de  vasts  sanctuar., 
viii  19,  where  some  other  particulars  are  to  be  found 
regarding  the  textures  of  which  the  Jewish  vestments  were 
made,  etc. 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments,      5 


IV.  The  Priest's  Cap  ('  bonnet,'  Exod.  xxviii 
40). — This  was  an  ordinary  turban,  fastened  round 
the  head.     The  description  given  by  Josephus  is 

clear  and  detailed.  He 
says :  *  Upon  his  head  he 
wears  a  cap,  not  brought 
to  a  conic  form  nor  encir- 
cling the  whole  head,  but 
still  covering  more  than 
half  of  it,  which  is  called 
mesnaemphthes  ;  and  its 
make  is  such  that  it 
seemeth  to  be  a  crown 
[garland],  being  made  of 
thick  swathes,  but  the 
^  contexture  is  of  linen, 
and  it  is  doubled  round 
many  times  and  sewed 
together  ;  besides  which, 
a  pieceof  fine  linencovers 
the  cap  from  the  whole 
upper  part,  and  reaches  down  to  the  forehead  and 
hides  the  seams  of  the  swathes,  which  otherwise 
would  appear  improperly.'* 

*  Yirlp  Se  T?]^  Kecfidkris  4>opd  ttIXov  aKCOvov,  ov  ^uKVOvp.evov 
els  Tvacrav  dvrriv,  dXX'  ctt'  oXlyov,  vTrep/SelS-qKOTa  ^fiecrrjs ' 
KaXuTcii  fxlv  fj.€(Tvaefj4e'>]S.  rrj  Se  KaraaKevy  TOLodros  ^(ttlv 
(1)5  (rT€(/)av7/  SoK€lv,  e^  vcfxiorfxaros,  Xiveov  racvia  7r€770irifM€vr] 
iraxda,  koI  yap  k-nrTva-crop^vov  pdinerai  TroXXaKis.      e-etra 


Fig.  I. — Vestments  of  the 
Jewish  Priesthood. 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


These  four  vestments  constituted  the  complete 
equipment  of  the  ordinary  Jewish  priest,  as  pre- 
scribed in  the  Mosaic  law.  The  high-priest,  how- 
ever, added  four  more,  which  were  as  follows  : 

V.  The  Tunic  of  Blue  ('robe  of  the  ephod,' 
Exod.  xxviii  31). — This  was  a  long  garment 
which,  according  to  some  authorities,  reached  to 
the  feet,  but  according  to  others  to  the  knees  only. 
It  was  woven  in  one  piece,  with  an  aperture 
through  which  the  head  of  the  wearer  was  passed  ; 
this  aperture  was  guarded  by  a  binding  or  braid 
to  prevent  it  from  tearing.  Round  the  lower  hem 
of  this  garment  were  hung  golden  bells  and  models 
of  pomegranates,  alternating  one  with  another. 
The  meaning  of  this  remarkable  ornament  is  not 
clear,  and  several  explanations  have  been  advanced 
to  account  for  it  ;  all,  however,  fanciful,  and  not 
worth  recording  here. 

VI .  The  Ephod ^  which  was  at  once  the  most 
elaborate  and  the  most  important  of  the  Jewish 
vestments,  is  more  fully  described  than  any  of  the 
rest.  The  superiority  of  this  vestment  over  the 
others  is  due  to  the  part  which  it,  and  the  breast- 
plate intimately  connected  with  it,  played  in  the 
mysterious  revelations  by  which  the  children  of 
Israel    were    guided    during     the    period     of    the 

cnv^uiv  avioOiv  dvTov  iKirepikpyjerai  SiyKOvaa  fJ-^xpt  /xertoTrov, 
T^'jv  T€  pa<fii]v  T-qs  Taivtas  kul  to  drr'  avT/Js  dirpeTrh  KaXvTT- 
Tovcra  — Translation  from  Whiston. 


'The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.     7 

Theocracy.  For  us,  however,  it  would  be  as 
irrelevant  as  it  would  be  futile  to  speculate  on 
the  nature  of  the  revelation,  or  the  instrumentality 
of  the  ephod  in  indicating  the  Divine  will  to  the 
priest.  We  are  here  concerned  only  with  the 
ephod  as  an  element  in  the  equipment  of  the  high- 
priest,  with  its  shape,  and  with  such  particulars  of 
its  ritual  use  as  we  can  find  directly  stated  in  the 
different  authorities. 

'  The  ephod,'  says  Josephus,  was  *  woven  to  the 
depth  of  a  cubit,  of  several  colours  [gold,  blue, 
purple,  and  scarlet  are  enumerated  in  Exodus]  ; 
it  was  made  with  sleeves  also  ;  nor  did  it  appear 
to  be  at  all  differently  made  from  a  short  coat.'* 
The  vestment  seems  to  have  consisted  of  two 
pieces,  a  front  and  a  back,  which  were  buttoned 
together  by  two  onyx  stones,  one  on  each  shoulder, 
set  in  bezils  or  '  ouches,'  and  engraved  with  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes,  six  on  one,  six  on  the 
other.  Round  the  waist  was  passed  a  girdle,  which 
was  an  essential  part  of  the  vestment — indeed, 
Josephus  tells  us  that  the  girdle  and  the  ephod 
were  sewn  together.  This  girdle,  which  was  made 
of  materials  similar  to  those  which  constituted  the 
ephod,  seems  to  have  been  embroidered  elaborately 
with  coloured  threads. 

■*  Y<^av^ei5  €7rt  (3ddos  7r7])(yaLOV  eK  re  \pu)fxaTix)U  TravTOiwv 
Kal  ■)(^pva-ov  a-viximroLKiXixkvov ,  .  .  .  xeipLcn  re  rjcTKrifxevos,  kol 
no  Travrl  a-^rjixari  \LT(d)V  dvai  TTiTroL-qjikvos. 


8  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

The  ritual  uses  of  the  ephod,  even  apart  from 
its  supernatural  associations,  are  obscure.  It  is 
distinctly  implied  both  in  Exodus  and  by  Josephus 
that  the  vestment  was  intended  for  the  use  of  the 
high-priest  alone  ;  yet  we  find  allusions  scattered 
through  the  early  historical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  clearly  indicate  that  it  was  worn 
by  others  as  well.  Thus,  we  read  in  i  Sam.  xxii  1 8 
that  Doeg,  commanded  by  Saul  to  fall  on  the 
priests  who  had  assisted  David,  *  slew  .  .  .  four- 
score and  five  persons  that  did  wear  a  linen  ephod.' 
Again,  Samuel,  when  a  child  in  the  service  of  the 
priests,  '  ministered  before  the  Lord  .  .  .  girded 
with  a  linen  ephod'  (i  Sam.  ii  i8).  Further,  we 
read  that  King  David  himself,  when  he  escorted 
the  ark  from  the  house  of  Obed-Edom  to  Jerusalem, 
was  '  girded  with  a  linen  ephod.'  In  these  three 
passages  we  read  of  an  ephod  being  worn  by  the 
minor  priest,  the  acolyte,  and  the  layman,  for  none 
of  whom  it  was  originally  intended.  The  most 
probable  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  ephod, 
originally  intended  as  a  vestment  for  the  high-priest 
alone,  was  gradually  assumed,  probably  in  a  less 
elaborate  form,  by  the  minor  priests  as  well — when 
or  how  we  cannot  say.  This  explanation  assumes 
that  the  regulation  was  originally  laid  down  as  it 
stands  in  Exodus;  but  it  is  possible  that  the  more 
stringent  restrictions  may  not  be  earlier  than  the 
recension  of  Ezra. 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.     9 


We  learn  from  the  incidents  of  Gideon  (Judg. 
viii  27)  and  of  Micah  (Judg.  xvii  5  ;  xviii  14 
et  seq.)  that  the  ephod,  or,  rather,  copies  of  it, 
early  became  objects  of  superstitious  veneration. 
In  the  two  latter  passages  quoted,  as  well  as  in 
Hos.  V  4,  the  vestment  is  coupled  with  the 
teraphim  or  penates,  to  the  worship  of  which  the 
Israelites  showed  marked  inclination  at  different 
periods  of  their  history.  It  may  be  noticed  in 
passing  that  Ephod,  which  signifies  'giver  of 
oracles,'  is  used  as  a  personal  name  (Num. 
xxxiv  23). 

VII.  The  Breastplate  of  the  Ephod. — This  was 
a  rectangular  piece  of  cloth  of  the  same  material 
as  the  ephod.  That  it  might  the  better  hold  the 
precious  stones  with  which  it  was  set,  it  was 
doubled,  its  shape  when  so  treated  being  that  of  a 
perfect  square,  with  a  side  of  about  nine  inches 
long.  The  stones  were  twelve  in  number,  and 
fixed  in  settings  of  gold,  being  arranged  in  four 
rows  of  three  each.  On  each  stone  was  engraved 
the  name  of  one  of  the  twelve  tribes. 

This  breastplate  was  secured  by  two  plaited  or 
twisted  chains  of  gold,  fastened  at  the  one  end  to 
the  bezils  of  the  shoulder-pieces  of  the  ephod,  at 
the  other  to  rings  of  gold  in  the  upper  corners 
of  the  breastplate,  and  by  two  blue  cords  secured 
to  rings  of  gold  in  the  lower  corners  of  the  breast- 
plate  and  in   the  sides   of  the  ephod  above  the 


lo  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

embroidered  girdle.  Josephus  asserts  that  there 
was  an  aperture  in  the  ephod  immediately  under 
the  breastplate.  For  this  statement  there  is  no 
Scriptural  authority  ;  but  it  is  possible  that  it  is 
the  record  of  a  modification  in  the  details  of  the 
vestment  naturally  evolved  and  established  at  some 
time  subsequent  to  the  institution  of  the  vestment 
itself. 

VIII.  The  Mitre.  —  This  did  not  differ  in 
essence  from  the  head-dress  of  the  priests  except 
in  one  important  respect — the  addition  of  a  gold 
plate,  set  on  a  lace  of  blue,  and  bearing  the 
inscription,  '  Holy  to  Jehovah.'  Josephus  does 
not  mention  this  plate,  but  describes  the  mitre  as 
a  kind  of  triple  tiara,  surmounted  by  a  flower- 
shaped  cup  of  gold,  and  covering  the  turban 
proper."^  This,  however,  is  quite  at  variance  with 
the  original  laws  on  the  subject. 

In  one  respect  these  vestments  are  similar  to 
those  which  it  will  be  our  duty  to  describe  in  the 
following  pages.  Although  there  is  no  injunction 
on  the  subject  in  the  Law,  the  Talmud  states 
clearly  that  '  he  who  wears  the  vestments  of  the 
priests  outside  the  temple  does  a  thing  forbidden.' 

*  *Y7re/)  avTov  Se  crvveppaixix^vos  erepo'S  e^  vaKivOov  tt^ttol- 
KiXfJiiVos,  7r€pup\€Tai  8k  crT€(f)avo<s  xpvcreo'i  IttI  t pi(TTOi\iav 
KexaXK€Vjxhos.  OdXXei  S'  ctt'  avno  kolXv^,  xP^'^^^"^  '^V 
aaKxdpti)  (SoTavY)  irap  rjjjLiv  Xeyofxevrj  a7ro/x€yui/x7^/x€vos,  vo<i  Se 
Kva/xov  ^FiXXrjviov. 


T^he  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.    1 1 

It  is  admitted  by  almost  all  students  that  the 
vestments  during  the  first  six  or  eight  centuries  of 
the  Christian  era  were  of  much  greater  simpHcity 
than  those  of  later  times.  The  evidence  of  con- 
temporary art  is  overwhelmingly  opposed  to  any 
other  view.  This  fact  being  admitted,  we  need 
not  be  surprised  by  finding  that  until  the  eighth 
or  ninth  century  no  attempt  was  made  to  trace 
any  connection  between  the  elaborate  vestments 
which  we  have  just  described,  and  the  vestments 
worn  by  those  who  ministered  in  the  offices  of 
Christian  worship. 

It  is  true  that  until  the  time  we  have  mentioned 
Churchmen  did  not  greatly  trouble  themselves 
with  investigations  into  the  history  of  the  religion 
they  professed  or  the  ritual  they  performed.  But 
it  is  also  true  that  several  authors  before  this  date 
enumerate  the  Jewish  vestments,  and  enter  at  length 
into  the  figurative  meanings  which  they  were  alleged 
to  bear ;  but  not  one  of  these  refers  to  any  supposed 
genealogical  connection — if  the  expression  be  per- 
missible— between  the  two  systems.  This  would 
be  inexplicable  if  the  Christian  vestments  were 
actually  derived  from  the  Jewish  ;  for  not  only 
would  the  resemblance  between  the  two  be  obvious, 
but  the  tradition  of  the  assumption  by  Christian 
clerics  of  the  vestments  originally  instituted  for 
the  Jewish  priesthood  would  still  be  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the    authors.      Yet  not  only  do  these 


12  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


writers  not  point  out  any  resemblance  between 
the  two :  they  even  make  use  of  words  and  phrases 
which  point  to  considerable  differences  between  the 
outward  appearance  of  Jewish  and  Christian  vesture. 
Apart  from  these  considerations,  may  we  not 
ask  with  reason  how  the  early  Christians,  a  poor 
and  persecuted  sect,  could  possibly  assume  and 
maintain  an  elaborate  and  expensive  system  of 
vestments  such  as  the  Jewish?  And  if  the  as- 
sumption had  been  made  after  the  days  of  per- 
secution were  past,  surely  some  record  of  the 
transaction  would  have  been  preserved  till  our  own 
day  ?  We  possess  a  tolerably  full  series  of  the 
acts  and  transactions  of  ecclesiastical  courts  in  all 
parts  of  the  known  world  from  the  earliest  times — 
how  is  it  that  all  record  of  such  an  important 
proceeding  has  perished  ? 

The  first  hint  of  the  idea  of  the  Mosaic  origin 
of  the  Christian  vestments  is  given  by  Rabanus 
Maurus,  Archbishop  of  Mainz,  in  his  treatise  '  De 
Institutione  Clericorum,'*  written  about  the  year 
850.  In  the  first  book  of  this  tract  he  discusses 
each  Christian  vestment  in  turn,  endeavouring  to 
find  parallels  to  some  of  them  among  the  vestments 
of  the  Jewish  priesthood,  but  without  much  success. 
The  seed  thus  sown,  however,  rapidly  bore  fruit 
among  subsequent  writers,  who  expanded  the 
theory  with  great  elaboration. 
'^'  I,  cap.  xiv  et  seq.  (Migne, '  Patrologia,'  vol.  cvii,  col.  306). 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments,     1 3 

Many  of  the  identifications  brought  forward  by 
some  of  the  late  writers  are  very  far-fetched,  and 
mutually  contradictory.  To  these  but  little  weight 
can  be  attributed.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that 
none  of  the  writers  who  endeavour  to  find  parallels 
between  the  two  systems  can  discover  an  equivalent 
among  the  Jewish  vestments  for  the  chasuble. 
Now,  if  for  each  of  the  Christian  vestments  there 
existed  a  corresponding  vestment  among  those  of 
the  Jews,  it  would  be  singular  that  the  most 
important  of  the  former  should  be  unrepresented 
among  the  latter.  The  maniple,  too,  has  no 
equivalent  (this,  however,  is  more  intelligible,  since 
that  ornament  was  certainly  a  later  introduction)  ; 
while  the  amice  is  the  only  vestment  that  even  the 
most  ingenious  can  produce  to  represent  the  ephod, 
though  the  similarity  between  the  two  is  of  the 
slightest. 

There  is  another  important  point  which  the 
advocates  of  a  Mosaic  origin  for  Christian  vest- 
ments overlook.  The  early  Christians  certainly 
did  borrow  many  details  of  their  worship  from  the 
Jews  who  lived  around  them,  and  from  whose 
religion  many  of  them  had  been  converted  ;  but 
these  details  were  taken  not  from  the  antiquated 
ritual  of  the  temple  worship,  but  from  the  syna- 
gogue worship,  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed. 
Now,  the  vestments  which  we  have  described  above 
were  appointed  for  the  tabernacle  worship  and  the 


14 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


temple  worship,  its  direct  successor,  whereas  no 
vestments  were  at  any  time  or  by  any  authority 
appointed  for  use  in  the  synagogue  worship  f  and 
hence  the  Christian  vesture  cannot  be  said  to  *  come 
directly '  from  the  Jewish. 

We  have  discussed  the  theory  of  a  Levitical 
origin  on  purely  a  priori  grounds,  making  only 
the  slightest  allusion  to  the  vestments  themselves 
as  we  find  them  in  primitive  times.  In  considering 
the  second  view,  to  which  it  is  now  time  to  turn, 
we  shall  adopt  a  different  course.  We  shall  first 
collect  the  main  facts  which  can  be  discovered 
or  deduced  respecting  vestments  in  the  earliest 
centuries  of  Christianity,  from  the  beginning  till 
the  rupture  of  the  East  and  the  West,  and  then 
discuss  in  detail  the  vestments  as  we  find  them  in 
the  succeeding  period,  which  in  all  ecclesiastical 
matters  was  a  period  of  transition,  comparing  each 
in  turn  with  its  hypothetical  prototype  among  the 
civil  costume  of  the  Romans.  The  remainder  of 
the  present  and  the  whole  of  the  succeeding  chapter 
will  be  devoted  to  this  investigation. 

The  materials  available  for  an  inquiry  into  the 
vestment  usage  of  the  early  Church  are  twofold  : 
the  incidental  statements  of  contemporary  authors, 
and  the  more  direct  information  obtained  from  a 

*  Such  a  vestment  as  the  talith  is  not  here  considered,  for 
this  is  worn  by  all  the  worshippers  alike,  as  well  as  hj  the 
officiating  minister. 


^Khe  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.     1 5 

study  of  contemporary  paintings  and  sculpture. 
We  shall  now  discuss  the  results  which  follow 
from  an  examination  of  these  sources. 

The  references  in  the  earliest  writers — even 
including  those  which  have  a  very  indirect  bearing 
on  the  subject — are  extremely  few  in  number  ; 
and  all  passages  which  can  possibly  throw  any 
light  on  the  question  have  been  eagerly  sought 
out  and  called  into  evidence  to  support  one  theory 
or  another.  The  two  best-known  passages  are  the 
statement  of  St  Jerome  :  *  Holy  worship  hath  one 
habiit  in  the  ministry,  another  in  general  use  and 
common  life  '  ;*  and  the  yet  more  famous  passage 
in  the  liturgy  of  St  Clement,  in  which  a  rubric 
directs  the  priest  to  begin  the  service  *  girded  with 
a  shining  vesture.'j"  The  phrase  Xa^Trpai^  eaOioTa 
/iierev^vQ  has  been  translated  *  being  girded  with 
his  "  splendid  "  vestment,'  a  translation  which  the 
Greek  cannot  possibly  bear  ;  and  this  passage, 
coupled  with  the  excerpt  from  Jerome  just  quoted, 
have  been  brought  forward  to  testify  that  gorgeous 
vestments  were  in  use  even  at  the  early  times  when 
thos;e  documents  from  which  they  have  been  ex- 
tracted were  written. 

"'•'  Hieron.  In  Ezek.,  cap.  xliv.  *  Religio  divina  alterum 
habitum  habet  in  ministerio  alterum  in  usu  vitaque  communi.' 

t  Et'^a/xei/09  ovv  KaO^  eavrov  6  dpxt^^p^vs  a/xa  rots  UpevaLV 
Kal  \afM77pav  i(Tdy]Ta  fierevSvs  Kal  crras  Trpbs  T(^  dvcnacrTrjpLOi 
TO  TooiraLOv  rod  crravpov  Kara  tov  parioTTOv  tov  X^tpl  Troirja-d- 

fl€VO<i;  ClTTaTO)    K,T.\. 


1 6  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Mr.  Marriott  has  carefully  examined  and  gom- 
mented  on  these  and  the  other  passages  cited  as 
authorities.  He  proves  that  the  first  passage  given 
above  is  used  in  a  context  which  shows  that 
Jerome,  though  possibly  he  may  have  had  Christian 
usage  in  his  mind,  was  thinking  primarily  of  Jewish 
usage  ;  the  second  (which  not  improbably  is  an 
interpolation)  does  not  specify  a  *  splendid  '  vesture, 
but  a  '  white  '  or  '  shining  '  garment. 

Mr.  Marriott's  inference  from  these  and  similar 
passages  is  '  that  white  was  the  colour  appropriated 
in  primitive  times  [i.e.,  in  the  first  four  centuries] 
to  the  dress  of  the  Christian  ministry.'  Though 
this  view  is  preferable  to  the  theory  that  the 
primitive  vestments  were  of  the  same  elaborate 
description  as  their  mediaeval  successors,  yet  it  does 
not  altogether  commend  itself  as  following  naturally 
from  the  authorities  cited.  It  will  be  necessai  y  to 
review  these  passages,  for,  as  we  shall  endeavour 
to  show,  they  are  quite  consistent  with  the  third 
alternative  :  that  no  distinctive  vestments  were  set 
apart  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Christian  minister 
during  the  first  four  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  third  passage  is  also  from  Jerome.  In 
another  part  of  the  same  commentary  as  the  last 
he  writes  :  '  From  all  these  things  we  learn  that 
we  ought  not  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies  clad  in  our 
everyday  garments  and  in  whatever  clothes  we 
will,  defiled  as  they  are  by  the  usage  of  common 


77?^  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments,     ly 

life  ;  but  with  pure  conscience  and  in  pure  garments 
we  ought  to  hold  the  sacraments  of  the  Lord.'* 

The  fourth  passage  is  from  Jerome's  letter 
against  the  Pelagians,  in  which  occur  these  re- 
markable words  :  *  You  say,  further,  that  gor- 
geousness  of  apparel  or  ornament  is  offensive  to 
God.  But,  I  ask,  suppose  I  should  wear  a  comelier 
tunic,  wherein  would  it  offend  God  ?  or  if  bishop, 
priest,  deacon,  and  the  rest  of  the  church  officers 
were  to  come  forward  dressed  in  white  V'\ 

Only  one  other  passage  remains.  This  is  the 
account  of  the  charge  preferred  against  Cyril, 
Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  before  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantius.  It  is  narrated  in  Theodoret  (Eccl. 
Hist.,  ii  27),  and,  not  being  worth  quoting  at 
length,  may  be  briefly  stated  thus :  Constantine 
had  sent  to  Macarius,  the  then  bishop,  a  sacred 
robe — Uciav  aroXw — made  of  threads  of  gold,  to  be 
worn  when  administering  baptism  ;  Cyril  had  sold 
this  robe  to  a  stage-dancer,  who  wore  it  during  a 

*  '  Per  quae  discimus  non  quotldianis  et  quibuslibet  pro 
usu  vitae  communis  pollutis  vestibus  nos  ingredi  debere  in 
sancta  sanctorum  sed  munda  conscientia  et  mundis  vestibus 
tcnere  Domini  sacramenta.' — Hieron.  in  Ezek.,  cap.  xliv. 

f  'Adjungis  gloriam  vestium  et  ornamentorum  Deo  esse 
contraiiam.  Quae  sunt  rogo  inimicitiae  contra  Deum  si 
tunicam  habuero  mundiorem  ?  si  episcopus  presbyter  et 
diaconus  et  reliquus  ordo  ecclesiasticus  in  administratione 
sacrificiorum  Candida  veste  processerint  ?' — Hieron.,  Adv. 
Pelagianos,  lib,  i,  cap.  9. 

2 


1 8  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

public  exhibition.  It  was  further  stated  that  the 
stage-dancer  had  fallen  while  dancing  and  been 
fatally  injured. 

As  the  reader  will  see,  these  passages  give  but 
few  data  for  deductions  as  to  the  vestment-usage 
in  the  early  Church.  There  is  no  indication,  for 
instance,  in  the  passage  from  Theodoret  of  what 
sort  the  sacred  robe  in  question  was  :  it  may  just 
as  well  have  been  a  splendid  garment  originally 
from  some  temple  or  other.  The  fact  that  the 
early  Greek  ecclesiastical  writers  do  not  use  the 
word  GToXi]  to  denote  a  sacred  vestment  further 
weakens  the  force  of  this  anecdote  as  an  argument. 
Only  Germanus,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  (early 
seventh  century),  supplies  another  instance,  where 
he  says :  i]  aroXri  tov  lepetjQ  .  .  .  Kara  rov  no^rj^r] 
AapCjv  ;  and  this  latter  passage  can  be  explained 
away,  as  0-70X77  refers  here  to  Jewish  vesture,  in 
which  connection  it  is  also  employed  by  the 
Septuagint. 

On  a  careful  and  unbiased  reading  of  these 
passages,  it  will  be  noticed  that  nothing  is  said 
which  can  be  construed  into  denoting  garments  of 
a  special  prescribed  shape,  and  that  their  colour  is 
only  specified  by  such  indefinite  words  as  Xafnrpoq 
and  Candidas. 

It  is  also  important  to  notice  that  although  in 
the  first  and  third  of  the  passages  cited  from 
Jerome  a  more  special   mention   is  made  of   the 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments,    1 9 

dress  of  the  clergy,  yet  it  is  not  straining  the 
meaning  of  either  of  them  to  regard  them  as 
applying  equally  well  to  the  dress  of  the  lay 
worshippers.  This,  of  course,  would  preclude  the 
supposition  that  they  deal  with  any  special  ritual 
observance.  The  second  of  these  quotations,  if 
translated  into  homely  nineteenth-century  language, 
resolves  itself  into  a  simple  but  strong  injunction 
to  all  worshippers  (not  the  minister  only)  to  wear 
their  Sunday  clothes.  Mr  Marriott  lays  great 
stress  on  the  passage  in  the  letter  against  Pelagius ; 
its  testimony  is  one  of  the  strongest  arguments 
which  he  can  bring  forward  to  support  his  thesis, 
that  it  was  specially  appointed,  in  the  primitive 
church,  that  white  vestments  (something  like  the 
modern  surplice)  should  be  worn  by  the  minister. 
But  Jerome  does  not  say,  *  Is  God  displeased 
because  the  officers  of  the  church  dressed  Candida 
veste  ?'  but  '  would  God  be  displeased  if  they 
were  so  vested.^'  The  entire  passage  is  hypo- 
thetical ;  and  nothing  is  more  clear  than  that 
Jerome  was  not  contemplating  any  hard  and  fast 
rules. 

We  may  dismiss  the  passage  from  the  Clemen- 
tine Liturgy  with  very  few  words.  Aa^irpog^ 
which  the  ritualists  translate  '  splendid,'  in  classical 
Greek  always  means  '  bright,  brilliant,  radiant,'*  and 

*  See  Liddell  and  Scott,  Greek  Lexicon,  edit,  maj.,  sub 


20  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

is  applied  in  Homer  to  the  sun  and  stars.  It  is  also 
applied,  in  the  sense  of  '  bright,'  to  white  clothes  ; 
indeed,  we  find  in  Polybius^  {flor,  circa  150  B.C.) 
this  very  phrase,  Xajnirpa  kaQiK,  equivalent  to  the 
Roman /^^<^  Candida.  Other  meanings  are  *limpid' 
(of  water),  '  sonorous '  (of  the  voice),  '  fresh, 
vigorous '  (of  action),  *  manifest,'  '  illustrious,' 
'munificent,'  *  joyous,'  'splendid'  (generally,  in 
outward  appearance,  health,  dress,  language,  etc.); 
but  it  never  wears  the  definite  meaning  which  we 
should  expect  were  the  word  intended  to  be 
applied  to  a  definite  vesture.  The  Xa^iTrpa  kM^q 
of  the  Clementine  Liturgy  is,  in  short,  a  bright, 
clean  robe,  but  no  more  an  article  of  an  ex- 
clusively ecclesiastical  nature  than  is  the  '  fair 
white  linen  cloth '  with  which  the  rubric  of  the 
Anglican  Communion  Service  directs  the  altar  to 
be  covered. 

Another  passage,  somewhat  later  in  date,  may  be 
cited  as  a  type  of  a  large  class  of  passages  very  apt 
to  mislead  too  credulous  students.  It  is  the 
Gaulish  description  of  St  Berignus  cited  by  Lipo- 
manus  (de  Vitis  Sancton,  Ed.  Surius,  Venice, 
1 58 1,  vol.  vi,  p.  4),  '  Vidi  quendam  hominem 
peregrinum,  capite  tonso,  cujus  habitus  differt  ab 
habitu  nostro,  vitaque  eius  nostrae  dissimilis  est.' 
The  context,  however,  makes  it  plain  that  secular, 
not  religious,  dress  is  intended. 

*  Polyb.,  10,  5,  I. 


The  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.   21 


And  when  we  refer  to  the  few  early  frescoes 
and  mosaics  which  have  come  down  to  us  from 
the  primitive  epoch,  we  find  ecclesiastics,  apostles, 
and  Our  Lord  Himself,  represented  as  habited  in 
the  tunic  and  toga  or  pallium  of  Roman  everyday 
life. 

We  gather,  therefore,  from  these  scattered  shreds 
of  evidence  that,  during  the  first  centuries  of  the 
Christian  church,  no  vestments  were  definitely 
set  apart  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  clergy 
who  officiated  at  Divine  service  :  that  clergy  and 
people  wore  the  same  style  of  vesture  both  in 
church  and  out,  subject  only  to  the  accidental  dis- 
tinctions of  quality  and  cleanliness. 

Fashion  in  dress  or  ornament  is  subject  to 
constant  changes  which,  though  perhaps  individu- 
ally trifling,  in  time  amount  to  complete  revolu- 
tions ;  but  the  devotees  of  any  religion,  true  or 
false,  are  by  nature  conservative  of  its  doctrines 
or  observances.  Combined  with  the  conclusions 
at  which  we  have  just  arrived,  these  two  universally 
recognised  statements  yield  us  presumptive  evidence 
of  the  truth  of  the  theory  which  views  the  Roman 
civil  dress  as  the  true  progenitor  of  mediaeval 
ecclesiastical  costume.  We  have  seen  that  at 
first  the  worshippers  wore  the  same  costume 
both  at  worship  and  at  home.  Fashion  would 
slowly  change  unchecked  from  year  to  year, 
while     ecclesiastical    conservatism     would    retard 


22  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

such  changes  so  far  as  they  concerned  the  dress 
worn  at  Divine  service  :  small  differences  would 
spring  into  existence  between  everyday  dress 
and  the  dress  of  the  worshipper,  and  these  differ- 
ences, at  first  hardly  perceptible,  would  increase 
as  the  process  went  on,  till  the  two  styles  of 
costume  became  sharply  distinguished  from  one 
another. 

Parallel  cases  are  not  wanting  to  show  that  this 
is  not  altogether  mere  random  theorizing.  For 
example,  the  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Holland  maintained,  till  comparatively  recently,  a 
picturesque  fashion  of  dress  over  a  century  old, 
which  they  wore  only  when  conducting  Divine 
service.^  Perhaps,  however,  the  objection  may 
be  urged  against  this  view  of  the  case,  that  if  the 
process  were  such  as  we  have  described,  it  should 
apply  as  weJl  to  the  worshippers  as  to  the  minister  : 
that  they,  as  well  as  he,  should  wear  service-robes. 
It  is  possible  that  this  would  actually  have  been 
the  case  had  the  church  services  maintained  their 
most  primitive  form,  as  St  Paul  describes  it  in  the 
First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  :  '  When  ye  come 
together,  every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a 
doctrine,  hath  a  tongue,  hath  a  revelation,  hath 
an  interpretation ' ;  f  that  is,  had  all  the  wor- 
shippers maintained  an  equally  prominent  position 

*  See  Chapter  VI. 
t   I  Cor.  xiv  26. 


T^he  Genesis  of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments.   23 

instead  of  selecting  one  of  their  number  to  con- 
duct their  services.  At  it  was,  the  outstanding 
position  of  the  minister  rendered  his  equipment 
especially  liable  to  such  stereotyping  as  we  have 
imagined. 

In  the  following  chapter  we  shall  submit  the 
truth  of  this  theory  to  a  test.  If  the  genesis  of 
ecclesiastical  vestments  actually  took  place  in  some 
such  manner  as  this,  then  the  vestments  as  we 
find  them  described  in  the  earliest  writers  ought  to 
bear  conspicuous  points  of  resemblance  to  the  civil 
costume  of  the  Roman  people  during  the  first  three 
Christian  centuries.  We  shall  now  inquire  whether 
this  be  so. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE     EARLY     DEVELOPMENT    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL 
VESTMENTS    IN    THE    WESTERN     CHURCH. 

THE  last  chapter  has  carried  us  down  to 
the  end  of  the  fourth  century  a. d.  For 
some  time  back  the  Roman  Empire  had 
been  showing  signs  of  disintegration.  Already 
the  three  sons  of  Constantine  had  divided  the 
imperial  power  among  themselves  ;  but  the  rule 
thus  severed  had  again  been  united  in  the  person 
of  Constantius.  In  395,  however,  the  emperor 
Theodosius  died,  and  left  the  empire  of  the  world 
to  be  parted  between  his  two  sons,  Arcadius  and 
Honorius. 

It  would  be  outside  our  scope  to  enter  into  the 
details  of  the  far-reaching  consequences  of  this 
great  event.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  state  that,  with  the  empire  in  which  it 
had  been  born  and  nurtured,  the  church  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  which  were  thenceforth  to 


Early  Development  of  Vestments,         25 

develop  independently,  now  in  parallel,  now  in 
widely  divergent  lines. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  regard  the  first  chapter 
as  dealing  with  the  period  between  the  institution 
of  Christianity  and  the  partition  of  the  Roman 
Empire  ;  and  in  the  present  chapter  to  discuss  the 
interval  between  the  latter  event  and  the  accession 
of  Charles  the  Great.  We  thereby  divide  the 
history  into  two  epochs  of  approximately  four 
centuries  each,  with  characteristics  sufficiently  well 
marked  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other. 
Following  Marriott,  we  shall  name  the  first  the 
primitive,  the  second  the  transitional  period.  We 
have  seen  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  vestments 
of  any  definite  form  were  prescribed  for  use  during 
the  former  epoch ;  we  shall  see  in  the  present 
chapter  how  vestment-usage  rapidly  developed  in 
the  churches  of  the  West  till  it  culminated  in  the 
gorgeous  enrichment  of  medieval  times. 

Although  the  difi-erences  between  the  vestments 
of  the  Western  and  the  Eastern  churches  consist 
largely  in  matters  of  detail,  they  are  sufficiently 
conspicuous,  and  their  histories  are  sufficiently 
divergent,  to  render  their  independent  treatment 
advisable.  We  shall  therefore  postpone  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  latter  till  we  have  investigated  the 
evolution  and  subsequent  elaboration  of  the 
former. 

The  empire  to  which  Honorius  succeeded  con- 


26  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

sisted  of  Italy,  Spain,  Gaul,  and  Britain.  Although 
the  evidence  which  is  extant  does  not  permit  us  to 
trace  completely  the  history  of  vestments  through- 
out this  period,  yet  from  scattered  documents  we 
are  able  to  see  that  for  the  most  part  the  develop- 
ment of  ecclesiastical  costume  proceeded  on  the 
same  lines  throughout  this  vast  area. 

Ritual  in  matters  of  dress  had  rapidly  been 
growing.  Pope  Celestine,  who  occupied  the  Roman 
See  from  423  till  432,  found  it  necessary  to  write 
a  sharp  letter  to  the  Bishops  of  Vienne  and  Nar- 
bonne  for  *  devoting  themselves  rather  to  super- 
stitious observances  in  dress  than  to  purity  of 
heart  and  faith.'  Certain  monks,  it  appears,  had 
attained  to  episcopal  rank,  but  had  retained  their 
ascetic  costume.  Some  of  Celestine's  sentences  are 
very  striking  in  this  connection  ;  and  although 
they  refer  primarily  to  out-door  costume,  we 
cannot  but  think  that,  in  a  later  age,  when  the 
regulations  governing  the  ritual  uses  of  vestments 
had  been  formulated,  and  the  vestments  themselves 
had  been  elaborated  to  their  ultimate  form,  the 
force  of  his  words  would  have  been  somewhat 
modified.  'By  dressing  in  a  cloak  [pallium'],'  he 
says,  *  and  by  girding  themselves  with  a  girdle, 
they  think  to  fulfil  the  truth  of  Scripture,  not  in 
the  spirit,  but  in  the  letter.  For  if  these  precepts 
were  given  to  the  end  that  they  should  be  obeyed 
in  this  wise,  why  do  they  not  likewise  that  which 


T^he  Early  Develop?nent  of  Vestments.     27 

follows,  and  carry  burning  lights  in  their  hands 
as  well  as  their  pastoral  staves  ?  We  should  be 
distinguished  from  the  common  people,  or  from 
all  others,  by  our  learning,  not  by  our  dress  ;  by 
our  habit  of  life,  not  by  our  clothing  ;  by  the 
purity  of  our  minds,  not  by  the  cut  of  our 
garments.  For  if  we  begin  to  introduce  novelties, 
we  shall  trample  under  foot  the  usage  which  our 
fathers  have  handed  down  to  us,  and  give  place  to 
vain  superstitions/ 

The  fullest  information  on  the  subject  of  vest- 
ments during  this  period  comes  from  Spain,  in  the 
oft-quoted  acts  of  the  fourth  council  of  Toledo, 
which  sat  under  the  presidency  of  St  Isidore  of 
Seville  in  the  year  G^Z-  Of  the  canons  which 
were  drawn  up  at  this  council  that  which  is  of  the 
highest  importance  in  this  inquiry  is  the  twenty- 
eighth,  although  it  is  not  directly  connected  with 
vestment-usage.  It  provides  for  the  case  of  a 
cleric  who  had  been  unjustly  degraded  from  his 
order,  and  ordains  that  such  a  one,  if  he  be  found 
innocent  in  a  subsequent  synod,  '  cannot  be  rein- 
stated in  his  former  position  unless  he  regain  his 
lost  dignities  before  the  altar,  at  the  hands  of  a 
bishop.  If  he  be  a  bishop,  he  must  receive  the 
ovarium,^  ring,  and  staff;  if  a  priest,  the  orarium 

*  Throughout  this  chapter  I  have  retained  the  Latin 
words  orariu7n,  planeta  and  alba  in  preference  to  the  English 
translations   'stole,'  'chasuble,'  and  'alb,'  when  treating  of 


28  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

and  planeta ;  if  a  deacon,  the  ovarium  and  alba ; 
if  a  subdeacon,  the  paten  and  chaHce,  and  similarly 
for  the  other  orders — they  must  receive,  on  their 
restoration,  whatever  they  received  on  their  ordi- 
nation.'* 

On  the  principle  which  is  all  but  universal,  that 
the  clergy  of  the  higher  orders  added  the  insignia 
of  the  lower  orders  to  those  of  their  own,  we  are 
enabled  by  the  help  of  this  act  to  draw  up  a  table 
of  the  vestments  recognised  in  Spain,  which  shows 
at  a  glance  the  manner  in  which  they  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  different  orders  of  clergy : 

^/i?a  :  worn  by  all  alike. 

Orarium  :  worn  by  deacons,  priests,  and  bishops. 

Planeta  :  worn  by  priests  and  bishops. 

Ring  and  staff :  exclusively  for  bishops. 

Some  letters  of  Gregory  the  Great  (Bishop  of 
Rome   590-604)   give  us   particulars   relating    to 

the  vestments  of  the  early  church.  The  two  are  not  iden- 
tical, and  it  is  convenient  to  have  a  short  method  of  distin- 
guishing one  from  the  other. 

*  *  Episcopus  presbyter  aut  diaconus  si  a  gradu  suo  iniuste 
delectus  in  secunda  synodo  innocens  reperiatur  non  potest 
esse  quod  fuerat  nisi  gradus  amissos  recipiat  coram  altario  de 
manu  episcopi  ;  (si  episcopus)  orarium  annulum  et  baculum  ; 
si  presbyter  orarium  ct  planetam  ;  si  diaconus  orarium  et 
albam  ;  si  subdiaconus  patenam  et  calicem  ;  sic  et  reliqui 
gradus  ea  in  reparationem  sui  recipiant  quae  cum  ordinarentur 
perceperunt.'  [The  bracketed  words  have  dropped  out  from 
the  MS.,  but  their  restoration  is  certain  and  necessary.] 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestrnents.     29 


three  other  vestments  not  in  general  use  through- 
out the  church.  These  are  the  dalmatica,  the 
7nappula,  and  the  pallium.  Lastly,  an  anonymous 
MS.  of  uncertain  date*  enumerates  the  pallium, 
casula,  manualia^  vestimentwm,  alba,  and  stola 
as  the  vestments  worn  in  the  Gallican  Church. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  none  of  the  British 
authors  of  the  period  have  preserved  any  record 
of  contemporary  vestment -usage  in  this  country; 
we  have,  however,  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it 
differed  from  that  of  the  Continent. 

Let  us  now  take  each  of  the  above  vestments  in 
order,  and  collect  whatever  information  is  obtain- 
able upon  their  appearance  and  history,  comparing 
each  in  turn  with  its  supposed  Roman  prototype. 

I.  The  Alba. — This  word  is  the  abbreviated 
form  of  the  full  name,  tunica  alba,  by  which  a 
flowing  tunic  of  white  linen  was  denoted.  It 
appears  that  the  first  use  of  this  word  as  a 
technical  term  for  a  special  robe  is  in  a  passage 
of  Trebellius  Pollio   (in   Claud.,  xiv,  xvii),  who 

*  This  MS.  is  edited  in  Martene's  Thesaurus  Anec- 
dotorum,  vol.  v,  p.  86  et  seq.,  and  extracts  are  made  from  it 
in  Marriott's  work,  p.  204.  The  MS.  was  found  in  the 
monastery  of  St  Martin  at  Autun,  and  is  assigned  by  Mar- 
tene  to  the  sixth  century,  though  on  doubtful  grounds. 
Marriott  is  probably  correct  in  referring  it  to  the  tenth. 
As  the  vestments  which  it  describes  rather  resemble  those  of 
the  final  period  than  of  the  transitional,  we  reserve  its  dis- 
cussion till  the  following  chapter. 


30  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

speaks  of  an  alha  suhserica^  mentioned  in  a  letter 
sent  from  Valerian  to  Zosimio,  Procurator  of  Syria, 
about  260-270  A.D.  In  the  41st  canon  of  the 
fourth  council  of  Carthage  {circa  400  a.d.)*  we 
meet  with  the  first  use  of  this  word  in  an  ecclesi- 
astical connection,  in  one  of  the  earliest  (if  not 
the  earliest)  regulations  ever  passed  to  govern  the 
ritual  usage  of  vestments.  This  ordains  that  the 
deacon  shall  wear  an  alha  only  ^tempore  ohla- 
tionis  tantum  vel  lectionis' 

The  constant  evidence  of  contemporary  pictures 
indicates  that  the  alha  was  a  long,  full,  and  flowing 
vesture.  In  this  respect  it  differed  from  the  Mosaic 
tunic,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  mediaeval  alb  on 
the  other.  Both  these  vestments  fitted  closely  to 
the  body  for  reasons  of  convenience,  for  a  flowing 
tunic  would  obviously  hamper  the  Levitical  priest 
in  the  discharge  of  his  sacrificial  duties,  and  would 
not  sit  comfortably  under  the  vestments  with 
which  it  was  overlaid  in  mediaeval  times. 

Nearly  two  centuries  after  the  fourth  council 
of  Carthage  we  find  the  first  council  of  Narbonne 
(a.d.  589)  enacting  that  *  neither  deacon  nor  sub- 
deacon,  nor  yet  the  lector,  shall  presume  to  put 
off  his  alba  till   after   mass   is  over.'f      To  this 

*  Labbe,  Sacrosancta  Concilia  (1671),  vol.  ii,  col.  1203. 

t  *  Nee  diaconus  aut  subdiaconus  certe  vel  lector  ante- 
quam  missa  consummetur  alba  se  prassumat  exuere.' — Concil. 
Narb.,  i,  Labbe,  vol.  v,  col.  1030  (misprinted  1020). 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments,     3 


canon,  which  was  clearly  framed  to  check  some 
tendency  to  irregularity  that  had  become  notice- 
able in  the  celebration  of  mass,  we  are  indebted 
for  two  facts  :  first,  that  ritual  usage  in  vestments 
was  now  firmly  established  ;  and  second,  that  the 
alba  was  the  dress  of  the  minor  orders  of  clergy. 
This  latter  point  is  not  clearly  brought  out  in  the 
Toletan  canon  already  quoted. 

Of  the  garments  worn  in  everyday  life  by  the 
Roman  citizen,  the  innermost  was  the  tunica  talaris, 
or  long  tunic.  This  article  of  dress  was  white, 
usually  of  wool  ;  it  was  passed  over  the  head  and 
reached  to  the  feet,  the  epithet  talaris  ('  reaching 
to  the  ankles')  being  employed  to  distinguish  it,  as 
the  tunic  of  ceremony,  from  the  short  tunics  worn 
when  freedom  was  required  for  active  exertion.'"'^ 
It  fitted  tolerably  closely  to  the  body,  though  it 
was  sufficiently  loose  to  require  a  girdle  to  confine 
it.  The  tunics  of  senators  and  equites  were  dis- 
tinguished by  two  bands  of  purple,  in  the  former 
case  broad  {lati  clavi),  in  the  latter  narrow  {angusti 
clavi),  which  passed  from  the  sides  of  the  aperture 
for  the  head  down  to  the  lower  hem  of  the 
garment. 

A  comparison  of  the  ecclesiastical  tunica  alba 
with  the  civil  tunica  talaris  will  bring  out  some 
remarkable    points    of  resemblance.      Both    were 

*  It  was  also  possible  and  usual  to  gird  up  the  tunica  talaris 
for  this  purpose. 


32  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

worn  in  the  same  manner,  and  both  reached  to  the 
feet  ;  it  is  true  that  the  ecclesiastical  dress  was 
slightly  fuller  than  the  civil,  but  this  was  necessary, 
as  room  was  required  underneath  the  alba  for  the 
wearer's  everyday  dress.  Further,  we  find  ecclesi- 
astics represented  in  ancient  frescoes  wearing  albae 
which  actually  show  ornaments  disposed  like  the 
clavi  of  the  tunica  talaris.  These  clavi  were  early 
employed  by  the  Christians  to  distinguish,  by  their 
relative  width,  the  representations  of  Our  Lord  from 
those  of  the  Apostles,  or  to  discriminate  between 
the  figures  of  ecclesiastics  of  different  orders. 

It  is  also  important  to  notice  that  the  alba  is 
invariably  furnished  with  tight  sleeves  reaching  to 
the  wrist.  The  tunic  was  originally  a  sleeveless 
garment  ;  but  with  the  growth  of  luxury,  a  new 
kind  provided  with  sleeves  gradually  came  into 
favour.  These  two  forms  of  tunic  were  distin- 
guished by  different  names :  the  older  or  sleeveless 
tunic  was  called  colobium^  a  Latinization  of  the 
Greek  name  /coXojSioi/ ;*  and  the  latter  or  sleeved 
tunic  was  named  tunica  manicata  or  tunica  dalmatica^ 
from  the  name  of  the  province  to  which  its  inven- 
tion was  ascribed. 

In  the  early  days  of  Rome  the  use  of  a  tunica 
dalmatica  stamped  the  wearer  with  the  stigma  of 
effeminacy  and   utter   want   of  self-respect.     The 

'''  Derived  from  the  adjective  ko\o/36s,  docked,  curtailed,  in 
reference  to  the  shortened  sleeves  of  the  garment. 


T^he  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     33 

parents  of  Cornelius  Scipio  and  of  Fabius  are  said 
to  have  openly  disgraced  them  in  their  boyhood, 
as  a  punishment  ad  corrigendos  mores,  by  com- 
pelling them  to  appear  in  public  in  this  attire. 
The  despicable  emperors  Commodus  and  Elaga- 
balus  offended  all  persons  of  good  taste  by  coming 
out  before  all  the  people  in  the  same  costume  : 
the  latter  impudently  calling  himself  another 
Scipio  or  Fabius,  in  reference  to  the  incident  just 
related.*  This,  however,  cannot  mean  that  the 
scandal  lay  in  the  adoption  of  the  luxurious  tunica 
dalmatica  in  preference  to  the  colohium  (for  Rome 
in  the  time  of  Elagabalus  was  too  deeply  steeped 
in  luxury  and  vice  to  feel  shocked  at  an  Emperor 
merely  preferring  an  under-garment  with  sleeves 
to  one  without  those  appendages)  ;  it  rather  con- 
sisted in  his  neglecting  to  put  on  his  'pallium,  or 
outer  dress,  over  it.  In  fact,  the  tunica  dalmatica 
must  have  quite  ousted  its  severer  rival  in  popular 
favour  by  the  time  of  Elagabalus :  for  we  find  that 
in  258,  only  thirty-six  years  after  the  death  of  that 
emperor,  St  Cyprian  of  Carthage  wore  a  tunica 
dalmatica,  over  which  was  a  hyrrhus,  or  cloak, 
when  led  out  to  martyrdom. f  It  is  absurd  to 
suppose  that  Cyprian,  on  such  a  solemn  occasion, 

*  Lampridius  in  Commodo,  cap.  viii  ;  in  Elagab.,  cap. 
xxvi. 

t  Acta  S  Cyp.,  prop.  Jin.  (Migne,  Patrologia,  vol.  iii, 
col.  1504). 

3 


34  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


would  have  assumed  a  merely  luxurious  garment, 
and  equally  absurd  to  imagine  that  he  would  have 
worn  ecclesiastical  vestments  at  the  time,  as  some 
commentators  on  the  passage  have  held.  There 
remains  only  one  other  alternative — that  the 
tunica  dalmatic  a  was  the  form  of  tunic  which  was 
in  regular  use  at  the  time,  and  this  seems  quite 
the  most  satisfactory  hypothesis. 

The  most  important  mention  of  the  tunica 
dalmatica  in  connection  with  ecclesiastical  matters 
is  in  the  decree  of  Sylvester,  Bishop  of  Rome, 
253-257.  That  prelate  ordained  'that  deacons 
should  use  the  dalmatica  in  the  church,  and  that 
their  left  hands  should  be  covered  with  a  cloth 
of  mingled  wool  and  linen.'*  Various  authors 
supplement  this  passage ;  thus,  the  anonymous 
author  of  the  tract  '  De  Divinis  Officiis,'  formerly 
attributed  to  Alcuin,  tells  us  that  *  the  use  of 
dalmaticae  was  instituted  by  Pope  Sylvester,  for 
previously  colohia  had  been  worn.'f 

Much  importance  has  been  attached  to  this 
decree.  It  is  regarded  as  an  additional  and  in- 
controvertible  proof  that  ecclesiastical   vestments 

*  *  Ut  diaconi  Dalmatica  uterentur  in  ecclesia  et  pallio 
linostimo  laeva  eorum  tegeretur.' — Anastasius  Bibliothecarius 
de  Vit.  Pontif.,  §  35  (S  Sylv.)  ;   Migne,  Patrol.,  vol.  cxxvii, 


J514. 

t  '  Usus  autem  Dalmaticarum  a  B.  Sylvestro  Papa  insti- 
tutus  est:  nam  antea  colobiis  utebantur.' — Pseudo-Alcuin 
de  Div.  Off.,  cap.  xxxix  ;   Migne,  vol.  ci,  1243. 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments,     35 


were  in  use  in  the  primitive  church.  But  on 
examination,  however,  it  will  be  found  no  more 
to  bear  such  a  construction  than  St  Paul's  request 
for  his  f^aiKovx).  The  ordinance  merely  shows  that 
Sylvester  had  a  laudable  desire  to  improve  the 
aesthetics  of  public  worship,  and,  with  this  end 
in  view,  decreed  that  thenceforward  ecclesiastics 
should  all  wear  the  tunica  dalmatica — which  had 
quite  outgrown  its  early  evil  reputation,  and 
must  be  admitted  to  have  been  a  better-lookino- 
garment  than  the  scanty  and  somewhat  undigni- 
fied colobium.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
many  of  the  clergy  wore  dalmaticae  even  before 
Sylvester's  edict  :  in  this  case  the  edict  would 
have  the  additional  advantage  of  securing  uni- 
formity. 

All  attempts  to  set  up  the  dalmatica  as  a 
separate  vestment  in  early  times  fail  hopelessly. 
It  is  unknown  to  the  drafters  of  the  Toletan 
canons,  and  no  early  representation  of  an  ecclesiastic 
is  extant  having  two  vestments  visible  under  the 
planeta*  This  would  certainly  be  the  case  if  the 
two  were  independent  vestments.  It  is  true  that 
St  Isidore  of  Seville  wrote,  '  Dalmatica  vestis 
primum  in  Dalmatia  provincia  Graecia  texta  est 
sacerdotalis,  Candida  cum  clavis  ex  purpura  ;'t 
(the  dalmatica  is  a  priestly  vestment  first  made  in 

*  This  does  not  apply  to  the  city  of  Rome.      See  p.  54. 
t   Etymologiae,  lib.  xix,  cap.  xxii  (Migne,  Ixxxii  635). 


36  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


Dalmatia,  a  province  of  Greece,  white  with  purple 
clavi)  ;  but  the  concluding  words  show  that  he 
was  merely  thinking  of  the  alba  under  its  more 
specific  name,  dalmatic  a, 

A  brief  recapitulation  of  this  somewhat  lengthy 
argument  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Two  forms 
of  tunic  may  be  said  to  have  contended  one  with 
another  for  the  favour  of  the  Roman  people — the 
sleeveless  colobium  and  the  sleeved  dalmatica.  The 
latter  ultimately  gained  the  victory  ;  and  the 
decree  of  Pope  Sylvester,  commanding  all  eccle- 
siastics under  his  authority  to  assume  it  in  place 
of  the  former,  finally  established  its  use  in  the 
church.  Now,  when  we  find  that,  two  or  three 
centuries  after  Sylvester's  time,  a  vestment  was 
worn  by  ecclesiastics  in  Divine  service  identical 
with  the  tunica  dalmatica  in  almost  every  respect, 
even  to  the  presence  of  the  clavi^  which  (in  the 
secular  dress)  indicated  the  rank  of  the  wearer,  it 
is  only  natural  to  regard  the  one  as  directly  derived 
from  the  other. 

There  is  one  other  point  of  importance  in  the 
history  of  this  vestment  in  the  transitional  period. 
It  was  found  that  such  a  flowing  garment  as  the 
alba  seriously  incommoded  the  priest  on  some 
occasions,  particularly  in  administering  baptism  by 
immersion.  Accordingly,  an  alba  fitting  closely 
to  the  body  was  invented  for  use  on  such  occasions, 
and   is  represented  in   certain  MS.    illuminations, 


T^he  Early  Development  of  Vestments,      i^j 

particularly  a  ninth-century  pontifical  now  in  the 
St  Minerva  Library  at  Rome.  The  special  im- 
portance of  this  point  is  due  to  the  fact  that  this 
baptismal  alba  was  probably  the  immediate  parent 
of  the  mediaeval  alb  ;  the  closer  vestment  being 
found  more  convenient  on  other  occasions  as  well 
as  that  of  baptism,  and  having  gradually  become 


Fig.  2.— a  Bishop  administering  Baptism. 


adopted  in  all  the  other  offices  of  the  Church  as 
well. 

II.  The  07'arium. — Both  this  vestment  and  the 
name  by  which  it  was  known  have  given  much 
trouble  to  scholars.  The  following  list  of  the 
various  derivations  which  have  been  suggested  for 
the  word  orarium  (arranged  in  order  of  probability) 
is  not  uninteresting  : 


38  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

1.  Ora,  because  used  to  wipe  the  face. 

2.  Orare,  because  used  in  prayer. 

3.  wpa,  because  it  indicated  the  time  of  the  different  parts 

of  the  service. 

4.  iopaL^€Lv,  because  the  deacon  was  beautified  with  it. 

5.  Ora  (a  coast),  because  (alleged  to  have  been)  originally 

the  edging  of  a  lost  garment. 

6.  6/)a(o,  because  the  siglt  of  it  indicated  whether  a  priest 

or  deacon  was  ministering  (!). 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  first  is  the 
true  etymology.  The  others  are  all  more  or  less 
fanciful  ;  and  the  orarium  was  certainly  employed 
originally  as  a  scarf  Ambrose  speaks  of  the  face 
of  the  dead  Lazarus  being  bound  with  an  orarium; 
and  Augustine  uses  the  same  word  to  indicate  a 
bandage  employed  to  tie  up  a  wounded  eye. 

Numerous  effigies  of  late  date  are  extant  which 
exhibit  a  kind  of  scarf,  passing  over  the  left 
shoulder  diagonally  downwards  to  the  right  side, 
and  fastened  under  the  right  arm.  As  Albertus 
Rubenius  long  ago  pointed  out,  these  scarves  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  clavi  which  ornamented 
the  tunics  of  senators  and  equites ;  for  they  are 
worn  over  the  pallium^  or  outer  garment,  and  are 
disposed  in  a  manner  quite  different  from  that  in 
which  the  clavi  fall. 

What,  then,  are  these  scarves }  The  answer  to 
this  question  is  supplied  by  Flavius  Vopiscus  in  his 
Life  of  Aurelian,  who,  he  says,  '  was  the  first  to 
grant  oraria  to  the  Roman  people,  to  be  worn  as 


'The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.    39 


favours/"^  Now,  the  references  which  we  have 
just  made  to  Ambrose  and  Augustine  —  not  to 
mention  others  which  might  equally  well  be 
quoted — show  that  the  oraria,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  method  in  which  they  were  worn,  must 
have  been  narrow  strips  of  some  kind  of  cloth. 
These  peculiar  scarves,  which  are  to  be  seen  on 
certain  monuments,  do  not  appear  on  any  effigy 
dating  before  the  time  of  Aurelian  ;  the  natural 
inference,  therefore,  is  that  the  scarves  which  we 
see  thus  represented  are  actually  the  oraria^  granted 
to  the  Roman  people  by  that  emperor  and  his 
successors.  If  this  argument  be  not  valid,  then  it 
is  impossible  to  say  either  what  these  scarves  really 
are,  or  what  was  the  true  appearance  of  the  civil 
ovarium. 

It  is  probable  that  considerable  laxity  existed  in 
the  manner  of  wearing  the  ecclesiastical  orarium, 
for  the  fourth  Council  of  Toledo  thought  it 
necessary  to  enact  a  special  canon  to  regulate  the 
method  in  which  this  vestment  should  be  disposed. 
The  fortieth  act  of  this  assembly  restricts  the 
number  of  or  aria  to  one,  and  enjoins  that  deacons 
should  wear  the  orarium  over  the  left  shoulder, 
leaving  the  right  side  free  so  as  to  facilitate  the 

*  'Sciendum  .  .  .  ilium  .  ,  .  primum  donasse  oraria  populo 
Romano  quibus  uteretur  populus  ad  favorem.' —  Flav.  Vop. 
in  Aur.,  48. 


40  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

execution  of  their  duties  in  Divine  service.'"*  This 
act  also  provides  that  the  diaconal  ovarium  should 
be  plain,  not  ornamented  with  gold  or  embroidery. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  this  Toletan  council 
favoured  the  derivation  of  the  word  or  avium  from 
or  are. 

The  wearing  of  the  ov avium  was  still  flirther 
regulated  by  two  of  the  councils  which  met  at 
Braga.  The  second  council  of  Braga  (563  a.d.) 
decreed  that  '  since  in  some  churches  of  this 
province  the  deacons  wear  their  ovavia  hidden 
under  the  tunic,  so  that  they  cannot  be  distin- 
guished from  the  subdeacons,  for  the  future  they 
must  be  placed  over  their  shoulders. 'f    The  fourth 

"*  '  Orariis  duobus  nee  episcopo  quidem  licet  nee  presby- 
tero  uti  ;  quanto  magis  diacono  qui  minister  eorum  est. 
Unum  igitur  orarium  oportet  Levitam  gestare  in  sinistro 
huraero  propter  quod  orat,  id  est,  praedicat  ;  dextram  autem 
partem  oportet  habere  liberam  ut  expeditus  ad  ministerium 
sacerdotale  discurrat.  Caveat  igitur  amodo  gemino  uti  orario 
sed  uno  tantum  et  puro  nee  ullis  eoloribus  aut  auro  ornato.' — 
Aeta  Coneil.  Tolet.  IV,  cap.  xl. 

This  rule  does  not  seem  to  have  been  always  obeyed.  In 
the  Pontifical  of  Landulfus  (ninth  century)  there  is  a  repre- 
sentation of  an  ecclesiastic  wearing  two  oraria,  one  over  each 
shoulder.      This,  however,  must  be  regarded  as  exceptional. 

t  *  Item  placuit  ut  quia  in  aliquantis  huius  provlnciae 
ecclesiis  diacones  {sic)  absconsis  infra  tunicam  utuntur  orariis 
ita  ut  nihil  differre  a  subdiacono  videantur  de  cetero  super- 
posito  scapulae  (sieut  decet)  utantur  orario.' — Acta  Coneil. 
Braear.  II,  cap.  ix  :  Labbe,  vol.  v,  col.  841.      The  eleventh 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     4 1 


council  (675  A.D.)  made  an  important  decree 
regulating  the  wearing  of  the  orarium  by  priests, 
which  has  been  since  followed  universally.  The 
vestment  was  to  be  passed  round  the  neck,  over 
each  shoulder,  crossed  in  front,  and  secured  in  this 
position  under  the  girdle  of  the  alba.^ 

The  last  enactment  of  importance  is  that  of 
the  council  of  Mayence  (813  a.d.),  which  ordered 
that  priests  should  wear  their  oraria  'without 
intermission.'t 


canon  ordained  '  ut  Icctores  in  ecclcsia  in  habitu  saeculari 
ornati  non  psallant.' 

■*  *Cum  antiqua  ecclesiastica  noverimus  institutione  prae- 
fixum  ut  omnis  sacerdos  cum  ordinatur  orario  utroque  humero 
ambiatur  ;  scilicet  ut  qui  imperturbatus  praecipitur  consistere 
inter  prospera  et  adversa,  virtutum  semper  ornamento  utro- 
bique  circumseptus  appareat  :  qua  ratione  tempore  sacrificii 
non  assumat,  quod  se  in  sacramento  accepisse  non  dubitatur  ? 
Proinde  modis  omnibus  convenit  ut  quod  quisque  percepit 
in  consecratione,  hoc  et  retentet  in  oblatione,  vel  perceptione 
sude  salutis  ;  scilicet  ut  cum  sacerdos  ad  sollennia  missarum 
accedit  aut  pro  se  Deo  sacrificium  oblaturus,  aut  sacramentum 
corporis  et  sanguinis  Domini  Nostri  Jesu  Christi  sumpturus, 
non  aliter  accedat,  quam  orario  utroque  humero  circum- 
septus, sicut  et  tempore  ordinationis  suae  dignoscitur  consecra- 
turus  :  ita  ut  dc  uno  eodemque  orario  cervicem  pariter  et 
utrumque  humerum  premens,  signum  in  suo  pectore  prae- 
ferat  crucis.  Si  quis  autem  aliter  egerit  excommunication! 
debitae  subiacebit.' — Concil.  Bracar.  IV,  cap.  iv  :  Labbe, 
vol.  vi,  coll.  564,  565. 

f   '  Presbyteri   sine   intermissione    utuntur  orariis  propter 


42  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

The  orarium^  then,  was  a  narrow  strip  of  cloth, 
disposed  about  the  persons  of  the  clergy  in  various 
manners  according  to  their  rank.  To  it  corre- 
sponded in  name,  shape,  and  method  of  disposi- 
tion, a  garment  common  among  the  Romans, 
though  admittedly  rather  an  honourable  ornament 
than  an  actual  article  of  clothing.  Yet  when  we 
remember  how  the  clavi  were  employed  to  dis- 
tinguish rank  among  the  earlier  clergy,  this  latter 
fact  may  be  regarded  as  strengthening  the  evidence 
of  identity  which  the  correspondence  in  all  salient 
features  affords.  Some  other  theories  of  its  origin 
will  be  discussed  when  we  have  treated  of  the 
pallium. 

III.  The  Planeta.  —  In  the  earlier  and  purer 
days  of  the  Roman  people,  the  dress  which  alone 
was  recognised  as  the  proper  costume  for  the 
citizen  was  the  toga.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
inconvenient  and  cumbrous  articles  of  dress  ever 
invented — a  great  oblong  cloth,  fifteen  feet  by  ten, 
thrown  in  a  complicated  manner  over  the  left 
shoulder,  folded  in  front,  and  hanging  loose  about 
the  feet.  We  can  hardly  feel  surprised  at  finding 
that,  when  the  citizens  came  to  regard  comfort 
before  appearances  to  such  an  extent  as  to  adopt 
sleeved    tunics,   a   more   convenient  form   of  this 


difFerentiam    sacerdotis  dignitatis.'  —  Concil.    Mogunt.    cap. 
xxviii :  Labbe,  vol.  vii,  col.  1249. 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     43 

outdoor  costume  was  adopted.  There  were  three 
varieties  of  this  new*  garment,  each  of  which  has 
its  own  name ;  these  were  the  paenula,  the  casula^ 
and  the  planeta. 

The  paenula  was  a  garment  which  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Republic  was  allotted  to  slaves.  A 
slave  wearing  this  dress  is  introduced  into  the 
'  Mostellaria '  (IV  iii  51)  of  Plautus.  Indeed, 
according  to  Julius  Pollux  ('Onomasticon,' vii  61), 
the  dramatist  Rhinthon,  who  lived  in  the  fourth 
century  b.c,  introduced  a  mention  of  this  garment 
into  his  '  Iphigeneia  in  Tauris,'  a  fact  which  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  dress  was  much  older 
than  his  own  time,  as  otherwise  his  audience 
would  be  unfavourably  impressed  by  the  anachron- 
ism. Numerous  allusions  in  classical  Latin  authors 
show  that  it  was  adopted  as  a  travelling  dress 
because  of  its  warmth  and  comparative  con- 
venience ^^  but  on  no  account  was  it  worn  within 
the  walls  of  the  city.  Gradually,  however,  the  use 
of  the  garment  spread,  till  Alexander  Severus 
(222-235  A.D.),  as  Lampridius  tells  us,  permitted 
elders  to  wear  the  paenula  within  the  city  in  cold 

*  Or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  new  adaptation  of  an  old 
garment.  The  paenula,  for  instance,  had  long  been  worn  by 
the  lower  classes,  being  cheap  and  warm. 

t  Though  it  was  by  no  means  adapted  to  active  exertion. 
See  Cicero,  pro  Milone,  capp.  x,  xx. 


44  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

weather,    though    at    the    same    time    he    forbade 
women  to  do  so  except  when  on  a  journey.* 

The  casula  was  a  poor  and  inferior  variety  of 
the  paenula^  which,  when  the  latter  was  promoted 
to  be  the  costume  of  senators  and  emperors,  suc- 
ceeded it  as  the  garb  of  the  poorer  classes.  The 
original  meaning  of  the  name  is  *  little  house ' — 
a  diminutive  of  casa — and  there  is  little  evidence 
to  guide  us  as  to  the  exact  appearance  of  the 
garment  which  it  denoted.  The  name  would  lead 
us  to  infer  that,  like  the  paeniila,  it  enveloped  the 
entire  body  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  it  was  made 
of  coarser  and  cheaper  material.  The  fact  that 
it  was  early  adopted  as  the  distinctive  dress  of 
monks  would  lead  us  to  this  conclusion  ;  beyond 
this  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  it  differed 
in  outline  from  the  paenula. 

Thtplaneta  first  appears  in  the  fifth  century  a.d. 
Cassianus  (De  Habitu  Monachorum,  i  7)  men- 
tions it  as  a  dress  whose  price  prevents  its  use  as 
a  monastic  habit  ;  and  St  Isidore,  two  centuries 
later,  expressly  forbids  members  of  religious  orders 
to  wear  it.  The  planeta  must  therefore  have 
been  more  costly  than  the  casula^  and,  as  we  find 
it  mentioned  in  the  sixth  century  as  the  dress  of 

■^  *  Paenulis  intra  urbem  frigoris  causa  lit  senes  uterentur 
permisit,  quum  id  vestimenti  genus  semper  itineranum  fuisset 
aut  pluviae.  Matrones  tamen  intra  urbem  paenulis  uti  vetuit, 
in  itinere  permisit.' — Lamprid.  in  Alex.  Sev.,  cap.  xxvii. 


T'he  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     45 

nobles  and  of  senators,  it  was  probably  the  most 
expensive  of  the  three. 

The  general  shape  of  the  garment,  as  shown  in 
Roman  paintings  or  effigies,  is  that  of  a  cloak 
enveloping  the  body,  sewn  in  front,  and  put  on 
by  being  passed  over  the  head,  for  which  a  suitable 
aperture  was  provided.  And  this  shape  is  identical 
with  the  outer  vestment  which  we  see  in  early 
representations  of  clerics.  The  modification  which 
was  early  adopted,  that  of  making  the  vestment 
oval  in  form,  so  as  to  lessen  the  width  over  the 
shoulders  and  so  to  give  more  freedom  to  the 
arms,  was  obviously  regulated  by  convenience. 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  the  three  principal 
vestments,  as  we  find  them  detailed  in  the  earliest 
lists  and  depicted  in  the  earliest  monuments,  are 
identical  in  shape,  disposition,  and  name  with  the 
Roman  civil  costume  of  the  second  or  third 
century  of  the  Christian  era. 

Three  additional  vestments  are  found  enumerated 
in  the  letters  of  St  Gregory  the  Great  and  else- 
where which  were  not  worn  universally  throughout 
the  church,  but  were  either  carefully  confined  to 
the  clergy  of  the  city  of  Rome  itself  or  were  in 
the  gift,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Pope.  These  are  the 
pallium^  the  mappula^  and  the  dalmatica. 

I.  The  F allium. — In  classical  Latin  this  word 
is  used  either  as  the  equivalent  of  toga  or  in  the 
general  sense   of   the  English  *  robe.'     It  is  also 


46 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


used  in  the  earlier  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  casula^ 
or  coarse  outer  garment  of  monks,  as  in  the  passage 
from  Celestine  quoted  on  p.  26.      Yet  another  use 


Fig.  3. — Ecclesiastics  from  the  Mosaics  in  S  Vitale, 
Ravenna  (Sixth  Century). 

of  the  word  pallium  is  found  in  the  expression 
pallium  linostimum,  which  denoted  a  cloth,  the  use 
of    which    was     ordained    to    deacons     by    Pope 


The  'Early  Development  of  Vestments,     47 

Sylvester,  as  we  shall  presently  see  when  discussing 
the  maniple. 

The  pallimn^  when  used  by  ecclesiastical  writers 
in  its  proper  and  restricted  sense,  denotes  an  orna- 
ment specially  appropriated  to  archbishops.  Its 
earliest  form  is  shown  in  the  Ravenna  mosaics — 
that  of  a  narrow  strip  of  cloth,  passed  over  the 
left  shoulder,  looped  loosely  round  the  neck,  and 
then  passed  over  the  left  shoulder  again,  so  that 
the  two  ends  hang  free,  one  in  front,  the  other 
behind.  This  method  of  disposition  seems  to 
indicate  an  identity  of  origin  with  the  ovarium ; 
indeed,  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  distinguish 
between  these  vestments  in  early  representations. 
A  desire  for  symmetry,  probably,  decided  the  next 
step  in  its  evolution  ;  this  consisted  in  bringing 
the  free  end  to  the  middle  and  knotting  it  into 
the  lowest  point  of  the  loop  :  this  we  find 
exemplified  in  monuments  of  the  eighth,  ninth, 
or  tenth  century.  From  this  the  transition  to  the 
form  which  became  universal  in  later  times  was 
easy,  and  the  two  are  found  contemporaneously. 
The  final  form — which  will  be  more  fully  de- 
scribed in  the  third  chapter — is  that  of  an  oval 
loop  with  a  long  tail  pendent  from  its  ends,  so 
that  when  the  ornament  is  in  position  it  presents 
the  appearance  of  a  capital  Y  on  the  front  and  on 
the  back. 

The  early  history  of  this  vestment  is  involved 


48  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

in  deep  obscurity.  As  already  hinted,  it  is  not 
improbably  a  modification  of  the  ovarium ;  but 
there  is  no  evidence,  further  than  general  outward 
resemblance,  that  this  is  actually  the  case  ;  nor  is 
there  any  apparent  reason  for  its  appropriation  to 
archbishops.  The  question  must  remain  open  till 
further  research  either  reveals  the  missing  links 
in  the  chain  of  connection,  or  elicits  some  more 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  question. 

The  idea  of  Dr  Rock,  according  to  which  the 
pallium  is  viewed  as  '  the  true  and  only  representa- 
tion of  the  Roman  toga,'  is  most  unsatisfactory. 
He  thinks  that  the  toga,  which  was  folded  over 
the  left  shoulder,  under  the  right  arm,  over  the 
right  shoulder,  and  again  over  the  left  shoulder, 
'  dwindled  down  to  a  mere  broad  band,'  folded 
much  the  same  way  ;  and  that  this  broad  band 
was  the  early  pallium.  The  evolution  here  sup- 
posed is,  however,  most  unnatural  ;  there  is  not 
time  for  it  to  have  taken  place  between  the  in- 
stitution of  Christianity  and  the  date  of  the 
Ravenna  mosaics — much  less  between  the  time 
when  ecclesiastical  vestments  and  their  develop- 
ment began  to  receive  special  attention  and  the 
latter  date ;  the  toga,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
was  itself  practically  obsolete  when  Christianity 
began  to  make  itself  felt,  and  still  further  removed 
from  the  current  fashion  of  the  time  at  which 
archbishops  began    to    require   distinguishing   in- 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     49 


signia;  and,  lastly,  the  connecting  links  between 
the  blanket  at  one  end  and  the  narrow  strip  of 
cloth  at  the  other,  which  Dr  Rock  adduces  and 
figures,  are  too  few  in  number  to  be  convincing, 
and  quite  explicable  on  other  grounds,  such  as  the 
unskilfulness  of  the  ancient 
artist — a  fruitful  source  of 
error  in  archaeological  re- 
search. 

It  is  not  inconceivable 
that  the  origin  of  the 
honourable  -pallium  is  to  be 
sought  in  the  honourable 
orariuyn,  distributed  as 
'  favours '  to  the  Roman 
people  ;  in  which  case  we 
must  seek  elsewhere  for  a 
prototype  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical ovarium,  *  We  should 
then  fall  back  on  the  old 
idea,  which  has  by  no  means 
been  disproved,  that  in  the 
clavi  of  the  tunica  alba  is  to  ^'^'-  4.-Effigy  of  a  Roman 

Citizen      in      Caerleon 
be  found  the  true  original.     Museum. 

We  reproduce  here  a  figure  of  an  efHgy  of  a 
Roman  citizen  at  Caerleon,  near  Newport,  which 
certainly  seems  to  warrant  this  view ;  here  is  to  be 
seen  a  tunica,  a  clavus,  and.'a  paenula,  all  very  sug- 

4 


50  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

gestive  of  the  alb,  stole,  and  chasuble  of  later  times. 
Duchesne,    in   his  *  Origines   du   culte    chretien,'* 
regards  all  the  orarium-Y\^t  vestments  which  appear 
in  contemporary  documents  as  in  reality  pallia; 
the  ovarium  proper  he  does  not  consider  to  have 
been    introduced    till    the    tenth    century.      The 
ovarium  which  appears  before  this  date  he  regards 
as    simply    a    napkin,    or    sudarium^    designed    to 
protect  the  alha.     He  further  states  that  in  the 
fourth   century  the  civil  law  required  all   officials 
to  wear  some  distinctive  badge  of  office  ;  that  the 
Eastern  Church  complied  with  this  law  throughout, 
assigning  the  <l)ino(f)opiov,  kiriTpayriXiov^  and  wpapiov 
respectively  to  bishop,  priest,  and  deacon,  while 
the  Western  Church  only  complied  with  it  to  the 
extent  of  assigning  a  pallium  to  the  bishops.     We 
confess  that  this  elaborate  argument  does  not  appeal 
to  us  any  more   than    the   theory  which  regards 
the  stole  as  the  orphrey  of  a  degenerated  vestment ; 
but  while  professing  our  own  belief  in  Marriott's 
view,  stated  above  (pp.  38-9),  we  have  given  these 
several  theories,  leaving  it  to  the  reader  to  make 
his  own  choice. 

From  the  earliest  references  to  the  pallium 
which  we  can  find,  it  is  clear  that  it  was  from  the 
first  regarded  as  a  distinctive  vestment  to  be  worn 

*  Quoted  by  the  Rev  O.  J.  Reichel  in  his  '  English 
Liturgical  Vestments  in  the  Thirteenth  Century '  (London, 
Hodges,  1895). 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.      5 1 

by  archbishops  only.*  The  archbishops  of  this 
early  period  had  not  the  right,  any  more  than  their 
mediaeval  successors,  of  assuming  the  f  allium  on 
their  consecration  ;  it  was  necessary  to  apply  to 
the  Pope  for  a  grant  of  the  vestment,  which  was 
only  bestowed  on  the  permission  of  the  reigning 
sovereign  being  obtained.  The  earliest  document 
unquestionably  relating  to  the  bestowal  of  the 
f  allium  is  a  letter  of  Pope  Symmachus,  bestowing 
the  pallium  on  Theodore,  Archbishop  of  Laureacus, 
in  Pannonia,  514  A.D.f  Instances  of  the  royal 
assent  being  considered  necessary  are  found  in  the 
letters  of  Pope  Vigilius,  who  delayed  the  grant  of 
the  f  allium  to  Archbishop  Auxanius  of  Aries  for 
two  years,  -pending  the  consent  of  Childebert  I, 
King  of  the  Franks  ;J  and  in  the  letters  of  Pope 
Gregory  the  Great,  who  at  the  request  of  Childe- 
bert II  bestowed  the  pallium  on  Virgilius,  a  later 
Archbishop  of  the  same  province.^ 

In  866  Pope  Nicholas  I  declared  that  no  arch- 
bishop might  be  enthroned  or  might  consecrate  the 
Eucharist  till  he  should  receive  the  pallium  at  the 
hands  of  the  Pope.|| 

*  Some  exceptions  to  this  rule  will  be  noticed  in  the  next 
chapter. 

t   Symmachi  Ep.  xii  in  '  Patrologia,'  Ixii  72. 

X  Vigilii  Epp.  vi,  vii  in  '  Patrologia,'  Ixix  26,  27. 

§   Gregorii  Ep.  v  53  ;  *  Patrologia,'  Ixvii  783. 

II  ' .  .  .  .  sane  interim  in  throno  non  sedentem  et  praeter 
corpus  Christi  non  consecrantem  priusquam  pallium  a  sede 


52 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


II.  The  Mappilii. — We  have  seen  in  discussing 
the  j//'j  that  Pope  Sylvester,  in  the  middle  of  the 
third  century,  decreed  that  the  deacons  of  the 
city  of  Rome  should  substitute  dalmaticae  for 
colobia ;  he  further  charged  them  to  wear  a 
gallium  Unostimum  on  their  hands.  It  is  clear 
that  this  cloth,  as  its  proper  name,  mappiiki  (little 
napkin),  demonstrates,  was  designed  to  serve  the 
utilitarian  purpose  of  a  handkerchief,  either  to 
wipe  the  Communion  vessels  or  the  face  of  the 
minister  —  probably  the  latter.*  This  cloth, 
however,  must  early  have  become  regarded  as 
a  sacred  vestment  by  its  wearers,  and  the  ex- 
clusive privilecre  of  the  Roman  priests  to  wear 
it  was  jealously  guarded.  Attempts  were  made 
bv  the  deacons  of  the  neighbouring  churches  of 
Ravenna  to  assume  the  vestment,  and  St  Gregory 
found  it  necessary  to   interfere,  w^hich  he   did   in 

Romana  percipiar,  sicuti  Galliarum  omnes  et  Germaniae  et 
aliarum  regionum  Archiepiscopi  agere  comprobantur.' — 
Nich.  Papae  I,  Responsa  ad  consulta  Bulgar.,  cap.  Ixxiii, 
ad  fin.  :  Labbe,  vol.  viii,  col.  542. 

*  The  notion  prevalent  nowadays,  that  the  mappula  was 
exclusively  intended  to  cleanse  the  sacred  vessels,  is  thus 
bluntly  negatived  by  St-  Ivo  of  Chartres  :  '  Unde  in  sinistra 
manu  ponitur  quaedam  mappula  quae  saepe  fluentem  oculorum 
pituitam  tergat  et  oculorum  lippitridinem  removeat,'  And 
Amalarius  of  Metz  testifies  to  the  same  effect  :  '  Sudarium 
ad  hoc  portamus  ut  eo  detergamus  sudorem  qui  fit  ex  labore 
proprii  corporis.' 


The  Fjarly  Dei:elopment  :^/>. 


m-: 


several  letters  to  that  somewhat  recalcitant  prelate, 
John,  the  Bishop  of  Ravenna.  For  the  sake  of 
peace,  Gregory  admitted  a  compromise  whereby 
the  principal  deacons  of  Ravenna  were  allowed 
to  wear  the  coveted  ornament  ;  but  the  glamour 
of  carrying  a  vestment,  however  inconvenient,* 
which  was  theoretically  confined  to  the  holy  city 
itself,  proved  too  strong  a  temptation  for  the 
deacons  of  other  places,  while  the  Romans  (whose 
exclusive  privilege  was  gone  once  Ravenna  was 
admitted  to  a  share  in  it)  took  no  further  steps 
to  prevent  its  assumption.  As  a  natural  conse- 
quence, the  use  of  the  vestment  spread  over  the 
whole  of  the  Western  Church,  and  by  the  time 
when  the  period  at  present  engaging  our  attention 
ended,  had  become  universal. 

III.  The  'Dalmatica. — We  have  already  entered 
at  length  into  the  history  of  this  word  and  of  the 
vestment  to  which  it  was  applied.  It  does  not 
seem  to  have  differed  essentially  from  the  alha  ; 
but  it  appears  that  twoj  vestments  were  worn  at 
Rome,  an  all?a  and  a  dalmatica,  though  it  is 
evident  from  the  Toletan  canons  and  other  sources 
that  at  this  early  period  such  was  not  the  case 
elsewhere.       In  early  pictures  the  two  vestments 

*  The  modifications  which  the  discomfort  of  this  little 
vestment  necessitated  will  be  described  in  the  next  chapter. 

t  Civil  dress  presented  parallel  cases  :  the  Emperor 
Augustus  wore  four  tunics  in  cold  weather. 


54  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

are  rarely  represented  side  by  side  ;  it  is  probable 
that  the  dalmatica  was  so  long  as  to  conceal  the 
alba^  just  as  the  dalmatic  on  mediaeval  effigies  of 
Bishops  often  hides  the  tunicle.  It  seems,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  shown  on  the  ancient  picture  of 
Gregory  the  Great,  described  by  Joannes  Dia- 
conus  ;  and  we  find  that  Gregory  granted  its  use 
to  Bishop  Aregius  of  Gap  and  to  his  Archdeacon 
(Ep.  ix  107  :  Migne,  Ixxvii  1033),  forwarding 
the  vestments  at  the  same  time  as  the  letter. 
Clearly  the  Pope  does  not  denote  the  alha  by  the 
word  dalmatica^  as  we  have  seen  St  Isidore  of 
Seville  do,  for  Aregius  would  naturally  wear  an 
alba  without  papal  interference.  The  vestment 
in  question  must,  therefore,  have  been  another, 
resembling  the  alb  in  outline,  but  only  worn  either 
at  Rome  or  by  those  on  whom  the  Pope  saw  fit  to 
confer  it. 

The  history  of  the  spread  of  the  dalmatica  must 
have  been  similar  to  that  of  the  mappula.  By  the 
time  the  third  period  begins  we  find  it  established 
as  an  independent  vestment,  difi^ering  from  its 
parent,  the  alba,  in  one  important  respect,  which 
will  be  detailed  in  the  following  chapter. 

Although  not  vestments  in  the  strictest  sense  of 
the  word,  we  must  not  conclude  this  chapter  with- 
out a  brief  notice  of  the  two  exclusively  episcopal 
insignia  noticed  in  the  canons  of  the  fourth  council 
of  Toledo,  namely,  the  ring  and  staff.    Rings  have 


I'he  Early  Development  of  Vestments,     ^^ 

been  found  in  the  tombs  of  bishops  of  the  third 
century.  This,  however,  proves  nothing,  as  their 
use  was  universal  among  both  Christians  and 
heathen.  Nor  can  anything  definitely  ecclesiastical 
be  tortured  out  of  the  many  descriptive  notices 
which  have  come  down  to  us  of  the  rings  in  the 
possession  of  individual  bishops  of  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  centuries.  Isidore  of  Seville 
{circa  600)  lands  us  on  firmer  ground  ;  he  dis- 
tinctly says  :  '  To  the  bishop  at  his  consecration 
is  given  a  staff  ...  a  ring  likewise  is  given  him 
to  signify  pontifical  honour,  or  as  a  seal  for  secret 
things.'"'  We  need  not,  perhaps,  discuss  the 
esoteric  meaning  of  the  gift  as  here  set  forth  ;  but 
the  fact  clearly  remains  that  by  Isidore's  time  the 
gift  of  a  ring  and  a  staff  had  become  an  essential 
part  of  the  ceremony  of  episcopal  ordination.  The 
Toletan  canon  tells  us  the  same  thing.  Before 
that  time  there  is  no  clear  indication  of  the  gift  ; 
it  is  not  mentioned  in  ordination  services  of  earlier 
date  than  the  sixth  century,  one  of  the  oldest 
references  to  it  being  in  the  sacramentary  of 
Gregory  the  Great  {circa  590  a.d.)  ;  and  even 
this  passage  is  rejected  as  an  interpolation  by 
Migne.f 

*  Huic  dum  consecratur  datur  baculus  ....  datur  et 
annulus  propter  signum  pontificalis  honoris  vel  signaculum 
secretorum. — Isidorus  de  OfF.  EccL,  lib.  ii,  cap.  v. 

t   Ad  annulum  digito   imponendam :  Accipe    annulum    fidei, 


56  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

The  Pastoral  Staff, — Isidore  says,  in  the  passage 
already  quoted,  that  the  staff  is  given  *  that  he 
may  rule  or  correct  those  set  under  him,  or  support 
the  weakness  of  the  weak.'^ 

It  is  strange  that  even  the  pastoral  staff  has  a 
prototype  among  the  insignia  of  the  heathen 
priesthood.  One  of  the  emblems  of  the  Roman 
augurs  was  a  lituus,  or  crook,  resembling  almost 
exactly  the  earliest  pastoral  staves  as  we  find  them 
shown  in  the  monuments  of  early  Christian  art. 
It  was  used  inter  alia  for  dividing  the  sky  into 
regions  for  astrological  purposes.  The  pastoral 
staff,  as  represented  in  early  monuments,  was 
much  shorter  than  the  mediaeval  crozier  ;  and  it 
seems  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  pastoral  staff 
was  originally  a  '  Christianization  '  of  this  pagan 
implement. 

Other  writers  have  argued  in  favour  of  the 
pastoral  staff  being  simply  an  adaptation  of  the 
common  walking-sticks,  which  were  certainly  used 
in  churches  as  a  support  before  the  introduction  of 
seats.  It  has  been  pointed  out,  however,  that  the 
pastoral  staff  had  become  a  special  member  of  the 
insignia  of  a  bishop  bef3re  the  general  abolition  of 
these  crutches  ;   and  this,  it  must  be  confessed,  is 

scilicet  signaculum  quatenus  sponsam  Dei,  videlicet  sanctam 
ecclesiam,  intemerata  fide  ornatus  illibate  custodias. 

''^  Ut  subditam  plebem  vel  regat  vel  corrigat  vel  infirmi- 
tatem  infirmorum  sustineat. 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     57 


an  argument  of  considerable  force  against  such  a 

hypothesis. 

'  The  letter  of  Celestine  to  the  Bishops  of  Nar- 
bonne  and  Vienne,  part  of  which  we  quoted  on 
pp.  26-7,  is  probably  about  the  earliest  available 
reference  to  the  use  of  the  pastoral  staff  by  mem- 
bers of  the  episcopal  order.  This  brings  the 
history  of  pastoral  staves  back  to  the  early  part  of 
the  fifth  century,  and  shows  that  this  special  orna- 
ment was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  external  symbols 
which  the  church  has  prescribed  for  its  officers. 

The  staff  was  a  rod  of  wood  with  a  head  either 
crutched  or  crooked,  usually  of  one  of  the  precious 
metals.  The  name  sug- 
gests that  the  symbolism 
of  the  shepherd  had 
entered  largely  into  the 
ideas  connected  with  it. 
It  was  carried  by  abbots 
and  abbesses,  by  bishops, 
and,  till  about  the  tenth 
century,  by  the  Pope  ; 
but  with  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  temporal  sove- 
reignty of  the  Papacy,  the 
emblem  purely  associated 

with  the  special  idea  of  spiritual  pastorate  was 
abandoned.  In  the  old  pre-scientific  days  it  used 
to    be    stated  that  the  Pope    at  no   time    carried 


Fig.    5.— Pope    Gregory    the 
Great  with  Pastoral  Staff. 


58  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

2L  pastoral  staff,  though  he  did  bear  a  ferula^  or 
straight  sceptre — the  symbol  of  rule  ;*  but  this  is 
at  variance  with  the  evidence  of  contemporary  art. 

We  must  not  leave  the  subject  of  the  earliest 
form  of  ecclesiastical  vestments  without  briefly 
noticing  the  ornamentation  with  which  they  were 
decorated.  In  the  oldest  representations  of 
ecclesiastics  which  we  possess,  their  vestments  were 
represented  pure  white,  ornamented  with  the 
clavi  ;  these  were  generally  black,  though  St 
Isidore  refers  to  purple  clavi.  But  other  colours 
appear  in  very  early  frescoes  and  mosaics.  These, 
however,  are  apparently  arbitrary,  the  result  of 
the  notions  of  the  painter  on  the  subject  of  the 
artistic  combination  of  colours.  Nothing  analogous 
to  the  *  liturgical  colours  '  of  late  times  is  trace- 
able in  the  early  or  transitional  period  of  the 
history  of  vestments. 

Some  ornamentation  other  than  the  clavi  is 
found  in  vestments  of  late  date  in  the  present 
period.  Leo  III,  the  date  of  whose  Papal  rule 
lies  just  on  the  border-line  between  the  transi- 
tional and  the  mediaeval  epoch,  presented  to  the 
Church  of  St  Susanna  a  vestment  with  four  gam- 

*  Romanus  autem  Pontifex  Pastorali  virga  non  utitur — 
Innoc.  Ill  Papa,  De  Sacr.  Altar.  Myst.  i  62  (Migne  ccxvii, 
795).  Ideoque  summum  Pontificem  eiusmodi  incurvatam 
virgam  non  gererc  quia  eius  potestas  nullis  locorum  limitibus 
circumscribitur  at  ubiquepatet. — De  Saussay,  Panoplia  Cleri- 
corum  (Paris  1646),  p.  102. 


The  Early  Development  of  Vestments.     5  9 


madia  —  that  is,  ornaments  shaped  like  crosses 
formed  by  four  gammas  placed  back  to  back,  thus : 
-•  ^  ;  we  also  hear  of  calliculae,  metal  or  em- 
broidered  ornaments,  for  the  alba.  A  singular 
method  of  ornamentation  is  exemplified  by 
numerous  frescoes  and  mosaics,  and  has  been  a 
fruitful  source  of  perplexity  to  ecclesiologists. 
This  consists  in  the  use  of  letters  (sometimes  of 
monograms  or  letter-like  arbitrary  signs)  on  the 
outer  hem  of  the  garment.  No  connection  can 
be  traced  between  these  letters  and  any  circum- 
stances known  concerning  the  persons  whose  vest- 
ments they  decorate  ;  and  wide  differences  be- 
tween the  times  and  places  of  individual  examples 
of  the  same  character  preclude  their  explanation  as 
the  faithful  copies  of  weavers'  marks.  We  can 
only  say  that  their  use  is  inexplicable  on  such 
practical  or  esoteric  grounds,  and  that,  therefore, 
some  simple  explanation,  such  as  the  arbitrary 
selection  of  a  letter  as  an  elementary  ornament,  is 
the  only  satisfactory  means  of  accounting  for  their 
presence.  Even  now  we  daily  employ  rows  of 
0-shaped  circles,  S-shaped  curves,  etc.,  as  orna- 
ments, without  the  slightest  reference  to  the 
sounds  which  those  symbols  denote.  The  tendency 
to  exalt  simple  little  contrivances  into  hidden 
mysteries  is  ever  with  us,  especially  in  ecclesiology, 
and  it  should  on  all  occasions  be  repressed. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE     FINAL      FORM     OF     VESTMENTS      IN     THE 
WESTERN     CHURCH. 

HITHERTO,  to  a  great  extent,  we  have 
been  groping  in  the  dark,  guided  only 
by  the  dim  light  yielded  by  obscure 
passages  in  early  writers  or  by  half-defaced  frescoes 
and  shattered  sculptures.  Much  is  conjectural, 
much  uncertain  ;  and  often  the  shreds  of  informa- 
tion obtained  from  different  sources  appear  con- 
tradictory, requiring  patient  thought  and  investi- 
gation to  unravel  the  entanglement  and  reconcile 
the  inconsistencies. 

The  progress  of  Christian  literature  and  art  had 
been  retarded  first  by  persecution,  then  by  war 
and  tumult.  This  partly  accounts  for  the  com- 
parative scantiness  of  the  material  extant  for  a 
history  of  the  Christian  antiquities  of  the  first 
eight  centuries.  But  with  the  ninth  century  a 
new  era  began,  which  lasted  unchecked  all  through 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  6 1 

the  Middle  Ages.  The  military  genius  of  Charles 
the  Great  effected  a  general  peace  in  the  year  812; 
and  under  his  enthusiastic  patronage  a  true  renais- 
sance took  place  in  learning  and  in  art.  Archi- 
tecture and  manuscript  illumination  were  carried 
to  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  and  for  the  first 
time  active  and  systematic  researches  were  made 
into  the  details  of  the  doctrine  and  ritual  of  the 
church  in  the  preceding  centuries. 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  the  inquiring  spirit 
which  thus  made  itself  felt,  the  number  of  books 
and  tracts  on  ecclesiastical  matters  multiplied 
enormously.  Among  the  many  branches  of  study 
which  were  and  are  open  to  the  inquiry  of  the 
ecclesiologist,  few  occupied  the  attention  of  these 
ninth-century  writers  more  than  the  vestments 
worn  by  the  priests  when  ministering  in  Divine 
service. 

It  has  been  reserved  for  the  antiquaries  of  our 
own  day  to  formulate  the  true  principles  of  scien- 
tific archaeology.  We  smile  at  the  childish  fancies 
which  are  gravely  put  forward  in  works  not  more 
than  fifty  years  old  ;  small  wonder  is  it,  then,  that 
we  find  these  early  treatises  on  vestments  disap- 
pointing. All  are  firmly  impressed  with  the 
Levitical  origin  of  the  usage  and  shape  of  Chris- 
tian vesture  ;  and  the  majority  are  occupied  with 
vague  speculations  concerning  the  symbolic  mean- 


62  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

ing    of  the    individual    items  in  an  ecclesiastical 
outfit. 

Mr.  Marriott  assigns  a  reason  for  the  then 
universal  belief  in  the  Levitical  origin  of  ecclesi- 
astical vestments  which  is  highly  ingenious,  and 
probably  correct.  I  cannot  do  better  than  cite  his 
words  on  the  subject  : 

'  Churchmen  who  had  travelled  widely,  as  then 
some  did,  in  East  as  well  as  West,  could  hardly 
fail  to  notice  the  remarkable  fact,  that  at  Con- 
stantinople as  at  Rome,  at  Canterbury  as  at  Aries, 
Vienna  or  Lyons,  one  general  type  of  ministering 
dress  was  maintained,  varying  only  in  some  minor 
details  ;  and  that  this  dress  everywhere  presented 
a  most  marked  contrast  to  what  was  in  their  time 
the  prevailing  dress  of  the  laity.  And  as  all 
knowledge  of  classical  antiquity  had  for  three 
centuries  or  more  been  well-nigh  extinct  in  the 
church,  it  was  not  less  natural  that  they  should 
have  sought  a  solution  of  the  phenomenon  thus 
presented  to  them  in  a  theory  of  Levitical  origin, 
which  from  that  time  forward  was  generally 
accepted.'"' 

Rabanus    Maurus,    as  we  have    already  stated 

{supra^  p.  12),  was  the  first  who  endeavoured  to 

draw  the  parallel   between  the  Christian  and  the 

Jewish    vestments.       The    older   writers    saw  the 

*  Vest.  Christ.,  p.  Ixxviii. 


'The  Fifial  Form  of  Vestments.  63 

difficulties  in  the  way  of  establishing  a  'complete 
correspondence.  Thus  Walfrid  Strabo  {circa  840), 
in  chapter  xxiv  of  his  '  De  Rebus  Ecclesiasticis/ 
merely  says  :  *  Numero  autem  suo  antiquis  respon- 
dent '  (In  their  number  they  correspond  to  the 
ancient  vestments)  ;  and  he  further  admits  that 
mass  was  formerly  celebrated  by  a  priest  robed  in 
everyday  dress.*  But,  as  the  desire  to  prove  the 
correspondence  grew  more  widespread,  changes  and 
additions  were  rapidly  made  in  the  vestments 
themselves,  with  a  view  to  assimilating  the  two 
systems.  In  the  interval  betv/een  the  ninth  and 
eleventh  centuries  the  number  of  recognised  vest- 
ments was  doubled  by  the  accretions  thus  made 
to  the  original  set. 

As  the  simplest  and  most  intelligible  method  of 
exhibiting  the  extent  of  these  changes,  I  have 
drawn  up  the  subjoined  table,  in  which  are  given 
the  lists  of  vestments  known  to  writers  on  ecclesi- 
astical matters  during  this  interval  of  time.  These 
lists  are  placed  in  parallel  columns,  and  a  uniform 
system  of  nomenclature  has  been  adopted,  so  that 
the  reader  can  see  at  a  glance  the  date  of  the 
various  additions  : 

*  Vestes  etiam  sacerdotales  per  incrementa  ad  eum  qui 
nunc  habetur  auctae  sunt  ornatum.  Nam  primis  temporibus 
communi  indumento  vestiti  missas  agebant,  sicut  et  hactenus 
quidam  Orientalium  facere  perhibentur. — Walafrid  Strabo 
De  Reb.  Eccl.,  cap.  xxlv  (Migne  cxiv  952). 


64 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


Rabanus 
Maurus, 
circa  820. 

Pseudo- 
Alcuin, 
saec.  X. 

Ivo 

of  Chartres, 

oh.  1 1 15. 

Honorius  of 

Autun, 
circa  1130. 

Innocent  III, 
circa  1 200. 

Alb 

Alb 

Alb 

Alb 

Alb 

Girdle 

Girdle 

Girdle 

Girdle 

Girdle 

Amice 

Amice 

Amice 

Amice 

Amice 

Stole 

Stole 

Stole 

Stole 

Stole 

Maniple 
Dalmatic 

Maniple 
Dalmatic 

Maniple 
Dalmatic 

Maniple 
Dalmatic 

Maniple 
Dalmatic 

Chasuble 

Chasuble 

Chasuble 

Chasuble 

Chasuble 

Sandals 

Sandals 

Sandals 

Sandals 

Sandals 

Pall 

Pal 

1 

... 

Pall 

Pall 

;:; 

Stockings 

Subcingulum 

Rational 

Mitre 

Stockings 
Subcingulum 

Mitre 

... 

... 

Gloves 

Ring 

StafF 

Gloves 

Ring 

StafF 

... 

... 

Tunicle 
Orale 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number 
of  vestments  was  increased,  not  so  much  by  the 
invention  of  entirely  new  ornaments,  as  in  the 
exaltation  to  the  rank  of  separate  '  vestments '  of 
what  had  previously  been  subordinate.  The  ring 
and  staff,  for  instance,  were  known  to  the 
councillors  at  Toledo,  but  they  do  not  appear  in 
these  lists  till  the  twelfth  century. 

We  must  now  discuss  each  of  these  vestments, 
noting  their  shape  and  the  peculiarities  which  they 
presented  at  different  times.  It  will  be  convenient 
to  follow  the  order  of  the  above  table. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  65 

I.  ^rhe  Alb. — We  have  traced  the  history  of  this 
vestment  from  its  use  as  a  purely  secular  garment 
till  the  ninth  century,  and  have  seen  how  its  pro- 
portions, at  first  ample,  were  contracted  till  the 
vestment  fitted  with  comparative  tightness  to  the 
body,  on  account  of  the  greater  convenience  which 
the  less  flowing  form  of  the  vestment  offered  for 
active  administration  in  Divine  service. 

The  material  of  which  the  alb  was  made  was 
usually  linen,  of  more  or  less  fine  quality  ;  but 
we  often  meet  with  entries  in  old  inventories  of 
church  goods  which  enumerate  albs  of  other 
material.  Silk  and  cloth  of  gold  are  very  com- 
monly mentioned,  and  velvet  is  not  unknown. 
Thus  we  have 

*  Albe  sunt  viginti  de  serico  principales.' — Inv.  West- 
minster Abbey,  1388. 

*  30  albes  of  old  cloth  of  Baudkyn.' — Inv.  Peterborough, 

1539- 

'  One  olde  aulbe  of  whyte  velvyt.' — Inv.  St  Martin  Dover, 

1536. 

The  proper  colour  of  the  alb  was  white ;  but  in 
England  coloured  albs  were  sometimes  worn,  and 
we  meet  with  such  vestments  in  inventories  passim. 
The  following  is  a  selection  : 

*  Red  albes  for  Passion  w^eek,  27. 
'40  Blue  albes  of  divers  sorts. 

*  7  Albes  called  Ferial  black.' — Inv.  Peterborough,  1539. 

*  Alba  de  rubea  sindone  brudata.' — Inv.  Canterbury. 

The   ornamentation   of  the  alb,   in    the  earlier 

5 


66  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

years  of  the  third  period,  sometimes  consisted  of 
round  gold  plates,  just  above  the  lower  hem  of 
the  vestment,  one  on  either  side.  Occasionally 
there  were  rows  of  small  gold  plates  arranged 
round  the  lower  edge.  Albs  of  the  first  kind 
were  called  albae  sigillatae,  from  the  seal-like  ap- 
pearance of  the  gold  plates.  Albs  of  the  second 
kind  were  named  albae  bullatae.  Dr  Rock  quotes 
the  following  : 

*  Camisias  albas  sigillatas  holosericas.' — Record  of  gift  of 
King  -^thelwulf  to  St  Peter's,  Rome,  in  Liber  Pontiiic.  in 
Vita  Benedicti  III,  t.  iii,  p.  i68,  ed.  Vignolio. 

*Alba  bona  et  buUata.' — Peterborough,  a.d.  1189. 

The  more  usual  ornamentation,  however,  and 
that  which  became  universal  in  later  years,  con- 
sisted in  ornamental  patches  of  embroidery,  tech- 
nically called  apparels^  sewn  on  to  various  parts  of 
the  vestment.  There  were  two  such  rectangular 
patches  just  above  the  lower  hem,"^  one  in  front, 
one  behind  ;  two  similar  patches,  one  on  the  back, 
the  other  on  the  breast ;  two  small  patches,  one  on 
each  cuff;  a  narrow  strip  encircling  the  aperture 
for  the  head,  more  for  use  (as  a  binding  to  prevent 
tearing)  than  for  ornament  ;  and,  in  earlier 
examples,   two    narrow    strips     running    down    in 

*  Very  often — perhaps  more  often  than  not — the  lower 
hem  was  ornamented  with  a  narrow  edging  of  embroidery 
running  all  round.  In  some  albs  as  represented  on  Conti- 
nental monuments  there  is  a  considerable  distance  between 
the  apparel  and  the  hem. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestme?its,  67 

front  and  two  behind,  like  the  clavi  of  the  Roman 
tunic. 

In  the  earliest  representations  of  albs,  as  seen  on 
sculptured  monuments,  the  vestment  is  left  plain; 
one  of  the  earliest  apparelled  albs  being  on  an 
effigy  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Giffard,  at 
Worcester,  1301.  This,  however,  does  not  imply 
more  than  that  the  apparels  were  originally  painted 
on,  and  that  the  paint  has  worn  off. 

Another  difference  is  observable  between  the 
cuff-apparels  of  early  effigies  and  of  those  of  later 
date.  In  the  early  albs  the  cuff-apparel  invariably 
encircles  the  whole  wrist  ;  but  in  later  specimens 
we  find  that  it  has  shrunk  to  a  small  square  patch, 
sewn  on  the  part  of  the  sleeve  which  is  toward 
the  back  of  the  hand. 

Dr  Rock  has  shown  some  reason  for  believing 
that  the  apparels  were  occasionally  hung  loose 
over  their  proper  place  ;  the  lower  hem  apparels 
being  suspended  from  the  girdle,  and  those  on 
the  breast  and  back  being  fastened  together  by 
two  cords,  between  which  the  head  was  passed, 
and  which  consequently,  when  in  position,  ran 
across  the  shoulders.  This  was  obviously  sug- 
gested by  convenience  ;  for  the  entry  in  the 
accounts  of  St  Peter's,  Sandwich — 

'  for  washing  of  an  awbe  and  an  amyce  parleying  to  the 
vestments  of  the  garters  and  flour  de  lice  and  for  sewing  on 
of  the  parelles  of  the  same,  v^  ' 


68  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

— tells  us  what  we  should  have  expected,  that 
the  apparels  had  to  be  removed  from  the  vest- 
ment when  it  was  washed,  and  sewn  on  again 
afterwards.  It  was  only  natural  that  some  such 
plan  as  the  loose  suspension  of  the  apparels  should 
be  followed  ;  for  the  constant  ripping  off  and 
sewing  on  of  the  embroidery  must  have  been  not 
only  laborious,  but  ultimately  detrimental  to  the 
vestment. 

This  entry  gives  us  an  instance  of  another  fact, 
that  vestments  and  suits  of  vestments  were  named 
after  the  pattern  which  was  embroidered  upon 
their  apparels.  A  singular  collection  occurs  in  the 
Peterborough  inventory,  including 

'6  albes  with  Peter  keys. 

*  6  albes  called  the  Kydds. 

*  7  albes  called  Meltons. 
'  6  albes  called  Doggs.' 

Albs  were  sometimes  worn  plain,  /.^.,  without 
apparel.  The  Salisbury  Missal,  for  example, 
forbids  the  apparelled  alb  to  be  worn  on  Good 
Friday  ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  some 
of  the  plain  albs,  as  represented  on  early  monu- 
ments, are  really  intended  for  unadorned  vest- 
ments. 

Some  difference  of  opinion  seems  to  exist  among 
the  authorities  about  the  mystical  signification  of 
this  vestment.  Rabanus  Maurus  holds  it  to  in- 
culcate purity  of  life.  Amalarius  of  Metz,  con- 
trasting Jerome's  description  of  the  tight-fitting 


T^he  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  69 


Jewish  tunic  with  the  flowing  alb  of  his  own  day, 
considers  that  it  denotes  the  liberty  of  the  New 
Testament  dispensation  as  contrasted  with  the 
servitude  of  the  Old.  Pseudo-Alcuin  thinks  that 
it  means  perseverance  in  good  deeds,  and  that 
therefore  Joseph  is  described  as  wearing  a  tunica 
talaris  among  his  brethren.  '  For  a  tunic  which 
reaches  all  the  way  to  the  ankles  is  a  good  work 
carried  out  to  the  end,  for  the  ankle  is  the  end 
of  the  body.'  Ivo  of  Chartres  asserts  that  it 
signifies  the  mortification  and  chastisement  of  the 
members.  Honorius  of  Autun  agrees  more  or  less 
with  Rabanus  Maurus  ;  but  Innocent  III  regards 
it  as  symbolical  of  newness  of  life,  '  because  it  is 
as  unlike  as  possible  to  the  garments  of  skins 
which  are  made  from  dead  animals,  and  with 
which  Adam  was  clothed  after  his  fall.' 

The  following  dimensions  are  among  those  given 
by  Mrs  Dolby  as  the  correct  measurements  of  an 
alb  for  a  figure  of  medium  height  and  ordinary 
proportions  : 

Length  behind  when  made          -          -  -  4  9 

Length  before  -         -         -          -         -  -  4  5 

Depth  of  shoulder-band      -          -          -  -  o  8| 

Width  of  same o  ^i 

Length  of  sleeve,  outside  of  arm           -  -  z  \\ 

Width  of  sleeve  at  wrist  folded  in  two  -  o  6\ 

Width  of  sleeve  half-way  up        -         -  -  o  9^ 

Length  of  neck-band           -          -          -  -  2  2o 

Width  of  same            -          -          -          -  -  o  ij 

Opening  down  front            -          -          -  -  ^  ^  i> 


JO  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

II.  The  Girdle,  with  which  the  alb  is  secured,  is 
a  narrow  band,  usually  of  silk,  the  ends  of  which 
terminate  in  a  tassel. 

The  colour  of  the  girdle  is  properly  white, 
though  occasionally  it  varied  with  the  colour  of 
the  day.  Though  (as  stated)  properly  of  silk,  it 
is  sometimes  made  of  cotton. 

Occasionally  the  girdle  was  embroidered  in 
colours.  In  the  Westminster  inventory  of  1388 
we  have : 

'  Zone  serice  sunt  septem  diversi  operis  et  diversorum 
colorum.* 

The  following  is  a  selection  of  the  esoteric 
meanings  ascribed  to  this  vestment :  custodia 
mentis ;  discretio  o'mnium  virtutum  ;  virtus  con- 
tinentiae  ;  perfecta  Christi  caritas. 

The  length  of  the  girdle  is  stated  at  about  four 
yards.  The  length  of  the  alb,  it  should  be  noticed, 
was  so  considerable  that  it  was  necessary  to  draw 
it  through  the  girdle  and  let  it  hang  over  above 
it.  It  is  therefore  extremely  rare  (if  not  unknown) 
for  the  girdle  to  be  visible  on  mediaeval  monuments, 
for  even  in  those  exceptional  effigies  in  which  the 
whole  length  of  the  alb  is  visible,  the  latter  vest- 
ment entirely  conceals  the  girdle  by  falling  over  it. 

III.  The  Amice. — This  vestment  was  quite  un- 
known in  the  earlier  period  :  it  was  a  mediaeval 
invention. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  j  i 

The  amice  was  clearly  originally  intended  to 
serve  as  a  hood ;  and  a  survival  of  this  use  remains 
in  the  ritual  of  vesting,  in  which  the  priest  first 
places  the  vestment  on  his  head,  with  the  prayer 
'  Impone  Domine  capiti  meo  galeam  salutis  ad 
expugnandum  diabolicos  incursus,'  before  adjusting 
it  round  his  neck. 

In  several  dioceses  of  France  the  amice  was  worn 
as  a  hood  upon  the  head  from  All  Saints'  Day  till 
Easter,  and  something  of  the  same  kind  may  have 
been  the  practice  elsewhere  ;  thus,  we  find  an  effigy 
of  a  priest  in  Towyn,  Merionethshire,  and  another 
in  Beverley  Minster,  in  which  the  amice  is  drawn 
over  the  head  hoodwise. 

In  shape  the  amice  was  a  rectangle  (the  dimen- 
sions are  given  as  thirty-six  inches  by  twenty-five 
inches).  At  each  end  strings  were  sewn,  which 
were  of  sufficient  length  to  cross  over  the  breast 
and  encircle  the  body.  An  apparel  of  embroidered 
work  ran  along  one  of  the  long  sides  ;  so  that 
when  the  vestment  was  in  position  it  was  turned 
down,  like  a  collar,  over  the  other  vestments  round 
the  neck,  and  so  far  open  as  to  leave  the  throat  of 
the  wearer  exposed.  A  small  cross  was  marked  in 
the  centre  of  the  upper  edge  of  the  vestment. 

So  much  of  this  vestment  was  concealed  that 
there  appears  to  have  been  little  or  no  scope  for 
variety  of  treatment,  either  in  form  or  material. 
The  Jatter  seems  alwavs  to  have  been  linen.     The 


72  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

orphreys  (embroidered  edges),  of  course,  are  sub- 
ject to  the  same  unlimited  variation  of  design  as 
the  corresponding  ornaments  on  other  vestments  ; 
but  the  shape  is  constant. 

The  same  uniformity  is  not,  however,  observ- 
able in  the  symbolism  of  this  vestment.  The 
variety  of  meanings  is  even  greater  than  is  the  case 
with  the  alb  and  its  girdle.  We  are  told  that  it 
signifies  {inter  alia)  the  Holy  Incarnation  ;  the 
purity  of  good  works;  the  subjugation  of  the 
tongue  ;  the  earthy  origin  and  heavenly  goal  of  the 
human  body  ;  the  necessity  of  justice  and  mercy 
in  addition  to  temperance  and  abstention  from 
evil  ;  and  the  endurance  of  present  hardships. 

IV.  The  Stole. — The  early  history  of  the  stole 
has  been  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  in 
considering  the  orarium. 

Why,  or  when,  the  proper  name  of  the  vest- 
ment became  *  stole,'  or  stola^  does  not  appear. 
It  is  named  stola  in  the  later  ecclesiastical  canons 
of  our  second  period  ;  but  it  is  not  clear  how 
stola^  which  in  its  original  significance  denoted  a 
flowing  tunic,  like  the  under-garment  of  the 
Roman  or  the  alha  of  the  priests  of  the  second 
period,  came  to  signify  a  narrow  strip  of  orphrey- 
work.  It  is  quite  certain  that  it  cannot  be  ex- 
plained (as  some  writers  have  attempted  to  do) 
as  the  orphrey  of  a  lost  vestment  which  has  sur- 
vived while  the  bulk  of  it  has  disappeared  ;   for 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  73 

the  continuity  of  the  stole  and  the  orarium  is  a 
matter  of  historic  certainty,  and  we  have  already 
shown  reason  for  assigning  an  entirely  different 
origin  to  the  latter  vestment.  Such  an  evolution, 
too,  as  that  of  a  narrow  strip  from  a  large  vest- 
ment is  not  natural,  and  is  contrary  to  our  ob- 
servation in  the  history  of  other  vestments  ;  and  it 
assumes  the  existence  of  embroidered  '  orphreys ' 
at  a  time  far  too  remote  for  such  ornamentation 


Fig.  6.— Stole-ends,  showing  Varieties  in  Form  and  Orna- 
ment. 


to  be  found.  This  hypothesis  has  suggested  one 
of  the  less  probable  etymologies  which  have  been 
proposed  for  the  word  orarium. 

The  stole  is  a  narrow  strip  of  embroidered 
work,  nine  or  ten  feet  long  and  two  or  three  inches 
wide.  In  its  original  form  it  was  of  the  same  width 
throughout  ;  but  about  the  thirteenth  or  four- 
teenth century  we  find  its  ends  terminating  in  a 
rectangular  compartment,  giving  each  the  appear- 
ance of  a  tau  cross.  This  was  in  order  to  secure 
extra  room  for  the   cross  with  which  every  stole 


74  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

was  supposed  to  be  marked  at  the  end.  For  the 
same  purpose  the  modern  stole  expands  gradually 
from  the  middle  point,  where  also  a  cross  is 
embroidered. 

Priests  wear  the  stole  between  the  alb  and 
chasuble,  crossed  over  the  breast,  and  secured  in 
that  position  by  the  girdle  of  the  alb — nowadays 
only  when  officiating  at  mass,  formerly  on  all 
occasions  on  which  the  stole  was  worn.  Deacons 
generally  secure  it  over  the  left  shoulder  and  under 
the  right  arm,  thereby  approximating  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  vestment  to  that  of  the  ancient  Roman 
ornament  from  which  the  vestment  takes  its  origin. 
Bishops  wear  the  stole  between  the  alb  and  tunicle"^'^ 
pendent  perpendicularly  on  either  side  of  the 
breast ;  the  pectoral  cross  which  they  wear  is 
supposed  to  supply  the  place  of  the  crossed 
stole. 

The  embroidery  and  material  of  the  stole  were 
supposed  to  tally  with  that  of  the  alb,  with  which 
it  was  worn.  The  same  rule  applies  to  the 
maniple,  and  we  commonly  find  in  inventories 
that  the  three  vestments  are  catalogued  together. 
But  if  we  can  trust  the  evidence  of  brasses  and 
other  monuments,  the  vestments  of  different  suits 
were  worn  together  in  a  very  haphazard  manner, 

*  The  late  brass  of  Bishop  Goodrich,  in  Ely  Cathedral, 
represents  the  stole  between  the  tunicle  and  dalmatic.  This 
is  exceptional,  and  probably  an  engraver's  error. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  75 


and  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  extract  any  defi- 
nite rule  as  to  the  collocation  of  different  vest- 
ments   embroidered    with    different    patterns    of 

orphreys. 

The  ends  of  the  stole— below  the  embroidered 
cross  when  such  existed— terminated  in  a  fringe  ; 
and  it  was  not  uncommon  in  earlier  years  for 
little  bells  to  be  included  in  this  fringe.     Thus  we 

have  : 

'  Una  stola  cum  frixio  Anglicano  cum  pedis  albis  et  endicis 
etcampanellis.'-Inv.  Vest.  Papae  Bonif.  VIII,  cit.  ap.  Rock, 
'  Church  of  our  Fathers.' 

The  stole  is  said  to  signify  '  the  easy  yoke  of 
Christ.'  Authorities  earlier  than  the  twelfth 
century  are  agreed  on  this  point,  though  they 
differ  on  some  minor  details  in  the  subordinate 
symbolism  of  its  length,  disposition,  etc.  But 
Honorius  of  Autun  asserts  that  it  signifies  'in- 
nocence,' and  makes  some  vague  and,  to  the 
present  writer,  unintelligible  allusions  to  Esau's 
sale  of  his  birthright ;  while  Innocent  III,  with  a 
faint  reminiscence  of  the  earlier  exegesis,  declares 
it  to  signify  the  servitude  which  Christ  under- 
went for  the  salvation  of  mankind— referring  to 

Phil,  ii  5-8. 

V.  The  Maniple.— Tht  history  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  maniple  follows  closely  on  that  of  the 
stole.  With  a  very  few  exceptions,  the  maniple,  as 
represented  on  mediaeval  monuments,  differs  from 


76 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


IS 


associated,    in    size 


the    stole,    with    which    it 
alone.* 

The  maniple  was  originally  worn  over  the 
fingers  of  the  left  hand.  This  arrangement  was 
most  inconvenient,  as  it  was  constantly  liable  to 
slip  off,  and  the  fingers  had  to  be  held  in  a  con- 


FiG.  7.— Archbishop  Stigand.     (From  the  Bayeux  tapestry,  showing 
maniple  carried  over  fingers.) 

strained  attitude  throughout  the  service.  It  was 
early  found  more  com^fortable  and  convenient  to 
place  the  vestment  over  the  left   wrist ;    but  no 

*  One  of  these  exceptions  is  presented  by  a  small  brass 
of  a  priest  (Thomas  Westeley,  1535)  at  Wyvenhoc,  near 
Colchester. 


•The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  J  J 


definite  rule  seems  to  have  been  formulated,  and, 
indeed,  in  some  parts  of  France  the  earlier  custom 
seems  to  have  survived  till  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  When  placed  on  the  wnst  it 
was  either  buttoned  or  sewn  so  as  to  form  a  per- 
manent loop,  so  that  it  should   not  slip  off  the 


arm 


In  a  few  effigies  the  maniple  is  represented  on 
the  right  wrist.  For  this  there  is  no  hturgical 
authority,  and  it  can  only  be  attributed  to  the 
blundering  of  the  engraver  or  sculptor.* 

In  reference  to  its  original  utilitarian  purpose, 
Amalarius  assigns  to  the  maniple  the  significance 
of  the  '  purification  of  the  mind.'  Pseudo-Alcmn 
holds  it  to  denote  this  present  life  (in  qua  super- 
fluos  humores  patimur).  It  is  also  said  to  denote 
penitence,  caution,  and  the  prize  in  the  racecourse. 
The  width  of  the  maniple  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  stole— the  length  is  given  at  from  three  feet 
to  three  feet  eight  inches. 

-  There  is  a  remarkable  statuette  of  alabaster  in  the 
Cambridge  Museum  of  Archaeology,  which  originally  formed 
part  of  I  retable  in  Whittlesford  Church,  Cambridgeshire. 
In  this  figure,  which  is  clad  in  Eucharistic  vestments,  the 
maniple  is  absent,  and  its  place  seems  to  be  supplied  by  a 
chain  suspended  over  the  right  wrist.  This  may,  however, 
represent  some  such  saint  as  St  Leonard,  whose  emblem  is  a 
chain  and  manacles  :  in  which  case  it  is  just  possible  that 
the  sculptor  omitted  the  maniple  to  avoid  the  inartistic  sym- 
metry which  would  result  from  its  insertion. 


78 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


VI.  The  Dalmatic. — I  am  unable  to  find  any 
representation  of  this  vestment  older  than  the 
ninth  century,  showing  the  special  features  which 
distinguished  it  from  the  other  vestments  of  the 
mediaeval  period.     Before  that  date  the  dalmatic 


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Fig.  8.— Deacon  in  Epis- 
copal Dalmatic.  (From 
Rand  worth  Church.) 


Fig.  9. 


■Deacon   in  Diagonal  Dal- 
matic. 


seems  to  have  been  identical  with  the  all?a,  pos- 
sibly distinguished  from  it  by  being  a  little  shorter 
when,  as  at  Rome,  the  two  vestments  were  worn 
together. 

In  the  mediaeval  period,  however,  this  vestment 
(and  its  modification,  the  tunicle)  is  marked  out 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  79 

from  all  others  by  being  slit  up  a  short  distance 
on  either  side.  These  side-slits  were  decorated 
with  fringes  ;  but  here  an  important  theoretical 
distinction  must  be  observed  between  the  dalmatic 
of  a  bishop  and  that  of  a  deacon.  This  was  often 
neglected  in  mediaeval  times,  and  is  consequently 
frequently  overlooked  by  ecclesiologists  of  the 
present  day.  In  the  dalmatic,  as  worn  by  a 
bishop,  the  side-slits,  the  lower  hems,  and  the 
ends  of  the  sleeves  were  fringed  ;  in  the  dalmatic 
of  a  deacon  there  were  also  fringes,  hut  only  on  the 
left  sleeve  and  along  the  left  slit. 

The  true  reason  for  this  distinction  is  probably 
to  be  sought  in  the  same  direction  as  that  which 
prompted  the  peculiar  diaconal  method  of  wearing 
the  ovarium — convenience.  The  deacon,  who  was 
practically  the  servitor  at  the  altar,  required  to 
have  his  right  side  free  and  unhampered  as  much 
as  possible  ;  the  heavy  fringes,  which  might  have 
impeded  him,  were  therefore  dispensed  with  upon 
that  side.  But  such  an  explanation  would  by  no 
means  satisfy  the  early  mediaeval  writers  on  vest- 
ments, and  we  are  accordingly  informed  that  as 
the  left  side  typifies  this  present  life  and  the  right 
that  which  is  to  come,  so  the  fringes  on  the  left 
indicate  those  cares  through  which  we  must  pass 
in  this  world,  while  their  absence  on  the  right 
symbolizes  our  freedom  from  care  in  the  world  to 
come.      Why   the    bishop    was    not    regarded    as 


8o  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

exempt  from  care  in  the  future  world  does  not 
appear. 

Another  singular  piece  of  blundering  meets  us 
at  St  David's  Cathedral.  Here  we  have  two 
effigies  representing  clerics,  who,  though  they 
wear  the  dalmatic,  yet  show  the  stole  disposed 
symmetrically,  in  the  manner  of  priests.*  Either 
the  presence  of  the  dalmatic  or  the  presbyteral 
stole  must  be  incorrect  ;  but  in  our  ignorance  of 
the  identity  of  the  persons  whom  these  effigies 
commemorate  we  cannot  decide  which.  Bloxam's 
idea,  that  these  figures  represent  archdeacons, 
though  ingenious,  is  untenable  ;  for  there  is  no 
authority  for  assigning  the  dalmatic  to  an  arch- 
deacon of  priestly  grade  ;  and  we  have  other 
figures  of  priests  known  to  have  been  archdeacons 
in  various  parts  of  England,  none  of  which  show 
the  dalmatic. 

The  ornamentation  of  the  dalmatic  before  the 
twelfth  century  consisted  either  of  vertical  bands 
(like  the  clavi)  or  else  of  horizontal  bands,  of 
orphrey-work.  After  that  date  the  plain  white 
vestment  was  superseded  by  one  covered  all  over 
with  elaborate  embroidery.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  the  episcopal  dalmatic,  which  is  only 
what  we  should  have  expected. 

We  have  already  stated  one  symbolical  meaning 

*  This  description  is  given  on  the  authority  of  Bloxam, 
companion  volume,  p.  64. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  8 1 

attaching  to  the  dalmatic  and  its  appurtenances. 
A  few  more  may  be  of  interest  :  the  Passion  of 
Christ  ;  the  *  pure  religion  and  undefiled,'  as 
described  by  St  James  ;  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments ;  the  crucifixion  of  the  world  in  the  wearer  ; 
the  wide  mercy  of  Christ,  etc. 

All  of  the  early  writers  are  misled  by  the  decree 
of  Pope  Sylvester  into  imagining  that  Sylvester 
first  instituted  this  garment  as  a  purely  ecclesi- 
astical vestment  ;  some  even  go  the  length  of 
assigning  a  mystical  meaning  to  the  colohium, 
which  it  superseded.  Even  Walafrid  Strabo,  who 
in  many  respects  is  the  least  mystical  of  the  early 
mediaeval  writers  on  ecclesiastical  vestments,  is 
deceived,  though  he  wisely  contents  himself  with 
stating  the  fact  that  Sylvester  had  so  commanded, 
without  attempting  to  assign  any  reason  for  his  so 
doing. 

VII.  The  Chasuble. — The  variety  of  materials 
of  w^hich  the  chasuble  was  made  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  extracts  from  the  Lincoln 
Inventory  of  1536  : 

'  Imprimis  a  Chesable  of  rede  cloth  of  gold  w*  orfreys 
before  and  behind  sett  w'  perles  blew  white  and  rede  w^ 
plaits  of  gold  enamelled.' 

*  Item  a  Chesuble  of  Rede  veivett  w'  kateryn  wheils  of 
gold.' 

*  Item  a  chesuble  of  Rede  sylk  browdered  w'  falcons  & 
leopardes  of  gold.' 

6 


82  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

*  Item  a  chesable  of  whyte  damaske  browdered  w'  flowres 
of  gold.' 

'  Item  a  chesable  of  whyte  tartaron  browdered  w*  trey- 
foyles  of  gold.' 

*  Item  a  chesable  of  purpur  satten  lynyd  w'  blew  bukerham 
havyng  dyverse  scripturs.' 

'  Item  a  chesable  of  cloth  of  tyshew  w'  orfreys  of  nedyll 
wark.' 

'  Item  a  chesable  of  sundon  browdered  w^  mones  k  sterres 
lyned  w'  blew  bukerham.' 

Of  the  materials  here  mentioned  the  commonest 
were  velvet,  silk,  or  cloth  of  gold. 

In  the  latest  days  of  the  transitional  and  the 
earliest  days  of  the  mediaeval  period,  there  were 
two  kinds  of  chasubles  in  use,  the  eucharistic  and 
the  processional.  The  distinction  between  them 
was  utilitarian  rather  than  ritualistic  ;  it  consisted 
in  a  hood  sewn  to  the  back  of  the  latter,  and 
designed  as  a  covering  for  the  head  during  out- 
door processions  in  inclement  weather.  But  the 
processional  chasuble  early  gave  place  to  the  cope ; 
and  a  hooded  chasuble  does  not  appear  to  be 
extant  in  representations  of  date  later  than  the 
tenth  century. 

The  manner  in  which  the  early  chasubles  were 
made  seems  to  have  been  as  follows :  A  semi- 
circular piece  of  the  cloth  of  which  the  vestment 
was  to  consist  was  taken,  and  a  notch  cut  at  the 
centre,  so  that  the  shape  of  the  cloth  resembled 
that  of  the  figure   in   the  annexed  diagram  ;  the 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  83 


two  straight  edges  corresponding  to  the  lines  AB 
and  CD  were  then  brought  together  and  sewn  ; 
the  result  was  a  vestment  somewhat  of  extinguisher 
shape,  with  a  hole  in  the  middle  for  the  neck,  and 
enveloping  the  body  all  round  to  an  equal  depth 
each  way.  The  result  was  that  when  the  priest 
had  to  raise  his  hands  the  vestment  was  gathered 
inconveniently  on  either  shoulder,  and  probably 
injured  by  being  crushed,  certainly  hampering  the 
wearer  by  its  weight.  This  difficulty  was  sur- 
mounted by  a  very  simple  expedient.  The  cloth, 
instead  of  being  shaped  as  before,  was  cut  into  an 
oval  form,  and  an  opening  was  made  at  the  centre  for 
the  wearer's  head,  the  consequence  being  that  when 
in  position  the  vestment  hung  down  over  the  front 
and  back  to  some  distance,  and  covered  the  upper 
part  of  the  arms,  though  not  sufficiently  so  to 
interfere  with  their  free  action.  The  latter  shape 
is  that  which  meets  us  all  through  the  mediaeval 
period  throughout  the  Western  Church. 


84 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


The  modern  Roman  Church  has  made  yet 
another  innovation  which,  although  it  has  its  dis- 
advantages, certainly  reduces  the  inconvenience  of 
the  vestment  to  a  minimum. 
Two  fairly  large  semicircular 
pieces  are  cut  from  each  side 
of  the  front  of  the  vestment, 
thereby  permitting  the  hands 
to  be  brought  together  when 
necessary  without  crushing  the 
vestment  between  the  forearms, 
which  was  inevitable  in  the  old 
form.  But  the  wasp-waisted 
appearance  of  this  chasuble  is 
ugly,  and  attempts  are  being 
made  to  abolish  it  and  to 
return  to  the  mediaeval  pattern. 
Yet  another  small  distinc- 
tion is  to  be  found  in  the  shape 
of  individual  examples  of  the 
mediaeval    period.      We    find 

many  of  these  vestments  to  be 
Fio.    10. —  Sir    Peter  ,  n-      •      i 

Legh,  Knight  and     made  Circular  or  elliptical,   so 

Priest.      (From     his         ,  ,      ,  i        j       •  11 

brass    at    Winwick.     that  the  lower  Dorderis  rouiided 

Vested     in     chasuble       ^^ .     ^j^-j^    ^^^^^^     ^^^^^^     ^^^ 

found  to  be  made  in  the  shape 
known  as  the  vesica  piscis^  so  that  the  lower 
extremities  terminate  in  a  point  more  or  less 
sharp.       Writers    who    cannot    be    content    with 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  85 

simple    or    commonplace    explanations    of  ^  such 
phenomena    as    this   have    laboured    in    vain    to 
invent    some    esoteric     signification    which    will 
account  for  it.     Perhaps  the  most  common-sense 
guess  is  that  made  by  Dr  Rock,  who  thinks  that 
the  rounded  chasuble  was  used  during  the  period 
of  rounded  architecture— the  Saxon  and  Norman 
—and  the   pointed  chasuble  during    the  pointed 
periods  of  architecture  :    a  suggestion  which  we 
should    have    no   difficulty  in   accepting  at  once, 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  scores  of  brasses  and 
other  monuments  of  the  Curvilinear   and   Recti- 
linear    periods     in     architecture    exist    showing 
rounded    chasubles;    while    (among    others)    the 
effigy   of  Bishop  John  de  Tour,  at  Bathampton 
near  Bath,  a.d.  i  123,  shows  a  pointed  vestment. 
We  have  no  space  to  enter  into  particulars  of  the 
other  suggestions— the  symbolism   of  the  vesica 
piscis,  the  perfection  of  the  circle,  etc. 

The  simple  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the 
difference  depended  merely  on  the  taste  and  fancy 
of  the  seamstress  or  of  the  engraver  of  the  monu- 
ment. It  would  be  perfectly  possible  to  draw  up 
a  list  of  monuments  in  which  the  point  of  the 
chasuble  shows  every  stage  from  extreme  sharpness 
to  extreme  bluntness,  and  so,  by  one  step  further, 
into  a  continuous  curve.  I'his  demonstrates  that 
no  rule  was  necessarily  followed  in  choosing  the 
shape  of  the  chasuble,  beyond  that  of  making  a 


86  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

fairly  symmetrical  vestment  which  should  hang 
down  in  front  and  behind,  and  should  have  a  hole 
in  the  middle  through  which  the  priest's  head 
should  be  passed.  Nor  can  we  even  say  that  fashion 
affected  the  shape  of  the  vestment ;  for  were  such 
a  list  as  I  have  mentioned  to  be  printed  here,  it 
would  be  seen  to  consist  of  the  most  haphazard 
and  random  series  of  dates  and  names  of  places 
thrown  together  without  the  slightest  regard  to 
chronological  sequence  or  geographical  position. 

The  dimensions  of  a  pointed  chasuble  (circa 
fourteenth  century)  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  has 
been  accepted  as  a  standard  for  modern  imitation, 
are  given  as  follows  : 

ft.    in. 
Depth  of  shoulder,  measuring  from  neck      -      2      9 

Length  of  side,  from  shoulder  to  point         -     411 

Depth  from  neck  to  point  in  front      -  -     4     6 

„  „  „  behind  -  -     4   ic 

The  chasuble  of  St  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  at 
Sens  Cathedral,  which  is  of  the  old  extinguisher 
shape,  is  three  feet  ten  inches  in  depth.  In  the 
oldest  chasubles  the  length  of  the  vestment  behind 
was  greater — often  much  greater — than  in  front. 
There  is  a  more  even  balance  between  back  and 
front  in  later  mediaeval  times. 

Passing  now  from  the  manner  of  making  the 
chasuble  to  the  manner  of  ornamenting  it,  we  find 
just  the  same  divergence,  with  apparently  just  as 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  87 

little  rule.  It  is  probable  that,  as  the  decoration 
was  the  most  costly  part  of  the  manufacture  of  a 
chasuble,  the  amount  of  it  was  regulated  by  the 
resources  available  to  pay  for  it. 

We  propose  to  consider  at  the  end  of  the  next 
chapter  the  classes  of  patterns  with  which  vest- 
ments generally  were  decorated  in  the  middle 
ages  ;  at  present,  therefore,  we  shall  confine  our- 
selves to  noticing  briefly  the  positions  in  which 
these  decorations  were  placed  on  the  chasuble. 

The  groundwork  of  the  vestment  was  either 
plain  (invariably  so  in  the  older  examples)  or  else 
embroidered  or  woven  with  a  pattern,  according 
to  taste  and  means;  the  ornamentation  proper  con- 
sisted of  strips  of  embroidered  or  '  orphrey  '  work, 
as  it  is  technically  called,  sewn  on  to  the  vestment. 
These  strips  were  sewn  either  on  the  edge  or  cross- 
wise on  the  front  and  back  of  the  chasuble. 

The  edge  orphrey  is  the  more  frequently  met 
with  in  the  brasses  of  parish  priests, "and  it  is  rarely 
so  elaborately  decorated  as  are  the  central  orphreys. 
It  usually  consisted  of  some  simple  pattern  of 
flowers  or  geometrical  figures  recurring  at  regular 
intervals  round  the  edge. 

Greater  variety  is  seen  in  the  shape  of  the 
central  orphrey,  which,  being  the  more  elaborate 
and  expensive,  is  almost  invariably  found  repre- 
sented in  the  monuments  of  bishops,  abbots,  and 
other  dignitaries,  and  in  the  efligies  of  priests  of 


88  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

the  richer  churches.  It  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
consisted  of  a  simple  *  pillar '  on  front  and  on 
the  back  of  the  vestment ;  usually  this  ornamenta- 
tion was  extended  by  the  addition  of  branches  of 
orphrey  work  given  off  on  either  side,  which 
passed  over  the  shoulder  and  joined  the  corre- 
sponding branches  of  the  other  pillar,  the  result 
being  that  the  orphrey  on  front  and  back  had  the 
appearance  of  the  Greek  S',  or  of  a  Latin  cross 
with  oblique  arms.  When  the  bands  were  so  dis- 
posed, the  pillar  on  the  front  was  called  the 
pectoral,  the  pillar  on  the  back  the  dorsal,  and 
the  auxiliary  bands,  which  passed  over  the 
shoulders,  the  humeral  orphreys.  Very  frequently 
this  design  was  varied  by  omitting  the  part  of  the 
pectoral  and  dorsal  bands  above  their  intersection 
with  the  humeral ;  this  resulted  in  the  *  Y  cross,' 
which  we  find  in  so  many  effigies  in  our  cathedrals 
and  churches.  In  a  few  examples  the  Y  or  M'  is 
inverted,  and  in  some  it  gives  off  auxiliary 
branches,  so  as  to  resemble  {e.g,')  the  figure  >|<. 
It  would,  however,  be  waste  of  time  and  space  to 
enter  further  into  a  discussion  of  what  was  not 
regulated  by  any  definite  rule,  but  depended  on 
caprice,  or,  at  most,  on  pecuniary  considerations. 
More  often  than  not  the  central  orphrey,  of 
whatever  form,  is  combined  with  the  edge  orphrey, 
and  is  usually  of  a  different  pattern  from  it. 

In  many  early  chasubles  the  front  and  back  are 


'The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  89 


charged  with  an  embroidered  Latin  cross.  This  is 
also  the  case  with  the  back  of  the  modern  Roman 
or  slit  vestment. 

When  the  Y  orphrey  was  placed  on  the 
chasuble,  the  space  between  it  and  the  neck  on 
the  back  was  usually  filled  with  an  elaborate  floral 
design  embroidered  in  gold  or  crimson.  Some- 
times (not  always)  this  extended  round  the  neck, 
and  was  repeated  in  front.  To  this  ornament  the 
special  name  of  '  flower  '  has  been  attached. 

The  chasuble  surmounts  and  safeguards  all  the 
other  vestments  ;  hence  the  chasuble  signifies 
love,  which  surmounts  all  the  other  virtues,  and 
safeguards  and  illumines  their  beauty  with  its 
protection  ;  so  says  Rabanus  Maurus,  prettily 
enough.  Amalarius  disagrees  ;  he  holds  that  as 
the  chasuble  is  common  to  all  clerics,  so  it  ought 
to  set  forth  the  works  which  are  common  to  all  : 
fasting,  thirsting,  watching,  poverty,  reading, 
singing,  praying,  and  the  rest.  The  pseudo- 
Alcuin  and  Ivo  of  Chartres  agree  with  Rabanus, 
though  for  difi^erent  reasons.  Innocent  III,  how- 
ever, holds  it  to  signify  the  virtue  of  apostolical 
succession  :  '  For  this  is  the  vestment  of  Aaron,  to 
the  skirt  of  which  the  oil  ran  down  ;  but  it  ran 
down  from  his  head  to  his  beard  and  from  his 
beard  to  the  skirt.  Forasmuch  as  we  all  receive 
of  His  spirit,  first  the  Apostles,  afterwards  the 
rest.'      Further,  he  goes  on  to  say  that  because  the 


go  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

stretching  out  of  the  hands  divides  the  chasuble 
into  two  complete  and  similar  parts,  so  that  vest- 
ment typifies  the  old  and  new  church  before  and 
after  the  time  of  Christ. 

VIII.  The  Sandals, — The  sandals  of  the  Roman 
citizens  are  well  known  —  mere  soles,  secured 
across  the  instep  by  one  or  more  thongs  of  leather, 
and  clearly  designed  to  protect  the  wearer  from 
stony  roads  without  unnecessarily  cramping  or 
confining  his  feet — an  important  consideration  in 
a  hot  climate. 

Such  a  sandal  must  have  been  worn  by  the  early 
clergy  as  Roman  citizens,  and  probably  long  con- 
tinued in  use  among  the  lower  orders  of  clerics. 
It  w^as,  and  still  is,  the  only  foot-covering  of 
certain  monastic  orders,  and  in  some  cases  was 
retained  even  by  monks  who  had  attained  to  epis- 
copal rank.  In  St  Canice's  Cathedral,  Kilkenny, 
which  contains  a  unique  collection  of  mediaeval 
efRgies  and  incised  slabs,  superior  in  merit  to  many 
better-known  specimens  of  mediaeval  art,  there 
exists  a  most  interesting  effigy  of  a  former  bishop, 
de  Ledrede,  who  died  ci'rca  1350.  He  is  repre- 
sented fully  vested  in  Eucharistic  dress  ;  but  in 
place  of  the  episcopal  sandals,  which  an  ordinary 
bishop  would  have  worn,  he  wears  the  simpler 
monastic  sandal,  which  covers  only  the  sole  and 
instep  ;  and  shows  the  cord  of  St  Francis  hanging 
below  his  alb. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  9 1 

The  extension  of  the  Church  into  more  northern 
and  colder  regions,  and  the  importation  of  foreign 
customs  into  the  southern  metropolis  itself,  pro- 
bably suggested  the  transformation  of  the  some- 
what scanty  sandal  into  a  more  appropriate  and 
more  comfortable  shoe.  The  traditions  of  the 
old  custom  were,  however,  long  maintained  in  a 
curious  way  :  the  upper  leathers  of  the  shoe  were 
fenestrated  or  cut  into  open-work  patterns,  the 
result  being  that  the  bare  surface  of  the  foot 
showed  through  and  displayed  the  decoration  in 
light  flesh-tint  against  the  dark  leather  of  the  shoe. 
When  the  episcopal  stocking  was  added  to  the 
equipment  of  the  bishop,  the  colour  became  bright 
scarlet,  though  the  efl^ect  remained  much  the  same. 

The  fenestrated  sandals  were  abandoned  about 
the  fourteenth  century  in  favour  of  shoes,  in  shape 
very  much  resembling  the  modern  ankle-shoe.  It 
would  have  been  inconsistent,  however,  with  the 
spirit  of  the  fourteenth  century  to  have  abandoned 
the  decorative  effect  produced  by  the  open-work, 
and  neglected  to  find  some  substitute.  This  sub- 
stitute was  found  in  lavish  embroidery  and  in 
ornamentation  with  jewels  and  spangles  of  gold. 
The  sandals,  in  fact,  became  as  elaborate  as  did 
the  rest  of  the  ecclesiastical  vestments. 

The  sandals,  as  above  described,  were  worn  by 
bishops  only,  at  the  Eucharistic  service.  Deacons 
and  priests  appear  to  have  worn  simple  everyday 


92  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

shoes,  without  ornamentation  of  any  kind.  The 
fenestrated  shoes  (which  were  popular  among  the 
dandies  of  the  day  as  well  as  consecrated  to 
the  bishops)  were  expressly  forbidden  to  them,  as 
also  were  coloured  shoes,  or  shoes  of  the  prepos- 
terous shapes  occasionally  in  vogue  among  the 
laity  of  the  middle  ages. 

'  As  the  sandals  partly  cover  the  feet  and  leave 
them  partly  bare,'  says  Rabanus,  '  so  the  teachers 


Fig.  II. — Bishop  Waynflete's  Episcopal  Sandal. 

of  the  Gospel  should  reveal  part  of  the  Gospel 
and  should  hide  the  rest,  that  the  faithflil  and 
pious  may  have  enough  knowledge  thereof,  and 
the  infidel  and  despiser  may  find  no  matter  for 
blasphemy.  And  this  kind  of  shoe  warns  us  like- 
wise that  we  should  have  a  care  to  our  flesh  and 
our  bodies  in  matters  of  necessity,  not  in  matters 
of  lust.' 

Amalarius  of  Metz  enters  into  further  details, 
incidentally  touching  on  some  points  of  difference 
which  obtained  between  the  sandal  of  the  bishop 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  93 

and  that  of  the  priest  in  his  day — the  first  half  of 
the  ninth  century.  The  following  is  a  translation 
of  his  words : 

*  The  difference  in  the  sandal  sets  forth  a  differ- 
ence in  the  minister.     The  ofBces  of  the  priest  and 
of  the  bishop  are  almost  identical  ;   but  because 
there  is  a  distinction  in  their  titles  and  honours 
there  is  a  distinction  in  their  sandals,  that  we  may 
not  fall  into  error  upon  beholding  them,  which  we 
might  well  do,   owing   to  the  similarity  of  their 
offices.     The  bishop  has  a  band  (ligaturd)  in  his 
sandals,  which  the  presbyter  has  not.      It  is  the 
duty  of  the  bishop  to  travel  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth   of  his  diocese   {^parochid)  to  govern 
the  inhabitants  ;  and  lest  they  should  fall  from  his 
feet,  his  sandals  are  bound.      The  moral  of  this  is, 
that  he  who  mingles  with  the  vulgar  crowd  must 
secure  fast  the  courses  of  his  mind  {gressus  mentis). 
The  priest,  who  remains  in  one  spot  and  offers  the 
sacrifice  there,  walks  more  securely.     The  deacon, 
because    his    office   is  different   from   that   of  the 
bishop,  needs  not  different   sandals  ;  he  therefore 
wears    them   bound,    because    it    is  his  to  go   on 
attendance.      The    subdeacon,    because   he    assists 
the  deacon,  and   has   almost  the  same  office,  must 
have  different  sandals,  that  he  be  not  thought  a 
deacon.     The  inner  meaning  is  this  :  Because  the 
sandals  set  forth  the  way  of  the  preacher,  the  sole, 
which   is  underneath,  warns  the  preacher  not  to 


94 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


mingle  with  earthly  matters.  The  tongue  of 
white  leather,  which  is  under  the  "  tread  "*  of  the 
foot,  shows  that  there  ought  to  be  the  same 
separation,  guiltless  and  guileless  ;  that  it  may  be 
said  of  him,  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom 
there  is  no  guile  ;"  let  him  not  be  such  as  were 
the  false  apostles,  who  preached  in  malice  and 
disputation.  The  tongue,  which  rises  thence,  and 
is  separated  from  the  leather  of  the  sandals,  sets 
forth  the  tongue  of  those  who  ought  to  bear  good 
testimony  to  the  preacher,  of  whom  Paul  said, 
"  He  must  have  a  good  report  of  them  that  are 
without."  These  are  in  the  lower  rank,  and  to 
some  extent  are  separated  from  spiritual  inter- 
course. The  upper  tongue  is  the  tongue  of  the 
spirits  {spiritalium),  who  lead  the  preacher  into 
the  work  of  preaching.  These  search  into  the 
past  life  of  the  preacher.  But  the  sandals  are 
bound  round  within  with  white  leather  ;  so  must 
the  desire  of  the  preacher  be  pure  before  God,  out 
of  a  clean  conscience  ;  and  without  appears  the 
black,  since  the  life  of  the  preacher  seems  despised 
by  them  that  are  worldly  on  account  of  the  myriad 
afflictions  of  this  present  life.  The  upper  part  ot 
the  sandal,  through  which  the  foot  enters,  is  sewn 
together  with  many  threads,  that  the  two  leather 
bands  be  not  separated  ;  for  at  first  the  preacher 
should  apply  himself  to  the  many  virtues  and 
*  So  Mariott.     The  original  word  is  calcaneum. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  95 


sayings  of  the  Scriptures,  that  his  outward  acts 
may  not  be  at  variance  with  those  which  are  secret 
and  known  to  God  only.  The  tongue  of  the 
sandals,  which  is  over  the  foot,  sets  forth  the 
tongue  of  the  preacher.  The  line  made  by  the 
craft  of  the  shoemaker,  stretching  from  the  tongue 
of  the  sandal  to  its  end,  sets  forth  the  perfection  of 
the  Gospel  ;  the  lines  proceeding  from  either  side, 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  which  are  repeated  in 
the  Gospels  ;  they  are  repeated  at  the  middle  line, 
which  stretches  to  the  end.  The  bands  denote  the 
mystery  of  Christ's  Incarnation  .  .  .  .' 

We  have  given  this  strange  mixture  of  mysti- 
cism and  observation  at  length  for  several  reasons. 
First,  it  emphasizes  a  curious  distinction  between 
the  shoes  of  different  orders  of  clergy  which  is  not 
often  brought  into  notice.  Secondly,  it  gives  a 
very  full,  though  somewhat  obscure,  description  of 
the  sandal  in  the  author's  time.  And  thirdly,  it 
exemplifies  the  absurd  lengths  to  which  an  author 
can  go  who  endeavours  to  extract  hidden  meanings 
from  simple  and  easily  explicable  facts.  Here 
Amalarius  endeavours  to  extract  solemn  truths  even 
from  the  seams  which  the  maker  found  necessary 
in  joining  two  pieces  of  leather  together.  If  some 
modern  writers  on  archaeological  subjects  took 
timely  warning  from  such  a  melancholy  example, 
we  should  have  fewer  wild  theories  and  more  facts. 
It    is    sad    that  most   of  Amalarius'   successors 


96  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

quietly  put  aside  his  elaborately  argued  piece  of 
symbolism.  Pseudo-Alcuin  is  content  with  the  old 
idea  of  Rabanus,  that  the  Gospel  should  be  kept 
from  what  is  earthy  as  the  feet  are  kept  from  the 
ground,  but  not  otherwise  covered.  Ivo  practi- 
cally quotes  Rabanus  word  for  word  ;  and  even 
Innocent  III,  who  is  usually  original,  has  little 
further  to  offer  beside  the  quotation  :  *  How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the 
gospel  of  peace  !' 

IX.  The  Pall. — The  pall  is  a  symbol  of  juris- 
diction, which  is  worn  by  the  Pope,  and  by  him 
bestowed  upon  all  archbishops. 

The  material  of  which  the  pall  is  made  is  white 
wool.  Both  the  shape  of  the  vestment  and  its 
ornamentation  have  undergone  modifications  since 
it  was  invented,  even  during  the  mediaeval  period 
itself  Its  earliest  appearance,  and  all  that  is 
known  of  its  origin,  is  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  The  folding  of  the  pallium  must  have 
given  a  little  trouble  whenever  it  was  put  on  ;  and 
this  must  before  long  have  suggested  the  shape 
which  meets  us  in  the  mediaeval  pall  :  that  of  a 
loop  of  cloth  with  two  tails  projecting  from  oppo- 
site points  in  its  circumference.  A  slight  differ- 
ence is  observable  between  palls  represented  early 
and  those  represented  late  in  the  mediaeval  period. 
In  the  former  the  branches  are  almost  horizontal, 
passing  round  the  arms  between  the  shoulder  and 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  97 


elbow  ;  in  the  latter  they  pass  over  the  shoulder. 
In  the  former  case  the  pall  resembles  a  T,  in  the 


Fig.    12.— St   Dunstan.      (From   a  manuscript   in    the    Cottonian 
Library  ;  showing  early  forms  of  pall  and  mitre.) 

latter  a  Y,  whether  seen  from  before  or  behind  the 
wearer. 

In  whichever  form  it  appears,  however,  the  pall 
was  secured  in  its  place  by  pins.  At  first,  when 
the  vestments  were  of  simple  description,  these 
pins  could  be  run  through  pall  and  chasuble  with- 

7 


98  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

out  doing  much  damage;  afterwards,  however, 
when  enrichments  were  heaped  upon  the  chasuble, 
these  pins  were  not  run  into  that  vestment  at  all, 
but  through  loops  provided  for  the  purpose.  It 
was  discovered,  however,  that  the  pall  in  its  latest 
development  would  stay  in  its  place  quite  as  well 
without  pins  as  with  them,  and  the  loops  were 
therefore  abandoned.  As  the  pins  were  generally 
made  of  gold,  with  heads  of  precious  stones,  some 
reluctance  was  felt  at  abandoning  them  altogether, 
and  accordingly  they  sank  into  the  position  which 
the  maniple  and  other  vestments  assumed — that  of 
being  ornaments. 

The  length  of  the  pendent  tails  shows  con- 
siderable variety  at  different  times.  They  are 
extremely  long — often  extravagantly  so — in  monu- 
ments dating  between  the  eleventh  and  fourteenth 
centuries.  After  that  date  they  were  curtailed, 
and  at  present  are  not  more  than  a  foot  long. 
There  is  a  little  button  of  lead  sewn  into  the  ends 
of  the  tails  to  make  them  hang  properly. 

The  pall  never  displayed  that  tendency  to 
elaborate  adornment  which  distinguished  the  other 
vestments  of  the  mediaeval  age.  Doubtless  the 
fact  that  all  palls  were  made  at  Rome,  and  but  few 
were  made  at  a  time,  prevented  any  great  change 
in  fashion.  Some  differences  are,  notwithstanding, 
noticeable.  In  the  earliest  representations  of 
tailed  palls  there  is  to  be  seen  a  single  cross  at  the 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.  99 

end  of  each  tail  ;  the  same  cross  is  to  be  seen 
worked  on  early  oraria  and  mappulae.  But  in 
mediaeval  and  modern  times  there  is  a  difference. 
At  present  the  pall  has  six  crosses,  one  on  each 
tail  and  four  on  the  oval,  worked  in  black.  In 
the  middle  ages  we  find  sometimes  four,  sometimes 
as  many  as  eight,  worked  in  purple. 

The  history  of  each  individual  pall  is  curious. 
On  the  morning  of  St  Agnes's  Day  (January  21) 
in  each  year,  two  lambs  are  sent  into  Rome  each  in 
a  basket,  the  baskets  being  slung  over  a  horse's  back. 
These  lambs  are  chosen  with  special  reference  to 
whiteness  and  goodness.  The  horse  is  driven  to 
the  palace  of  the  Pope,  who  comes  to  a  window 
and  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  lambs, 
which  are  then  conducted  to  the  church  of  St 
Agnes  without  the  walls.  Here,  gaily  adorned 
with  flowers  and  ribbons,  they  are  brought  up  to 
the  altar,  and  kept  there  till  mass  is  sung.  After 
mass  (formerly  at  the  Agnus  Dei)  the  celebrant 
blesses  the  lambs,  which  are  then  handed  over  to 
the  charge  of  the  canons  of  St  John  Lateran,  by 
whom  they  are  sent  back  to  the  Pope.  The  Pope 
hands  them  on  to  the  dean  of  his  subdeacons, 
who  delivers  them  up  to  a  nunnery,  where  they 
are  kept  and  fed.  When  they  are  shorn,  the 
wool  is  woven  by  the  nuns  into  palls.  On  the 
eve  of  the  day  of  St  Peter  and  St  Paul  these 
palls  are  taken  to  St  Peter's,  and  there    blessed 


loo  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


after  evensong,  after  which  they  are  shut  up  in  a 
silver-gilt  box  to  vt^ait  till  they  are  wanted  for 
bestowal  on  a  new  archbishop. 

Each  archbishop  on  election  must  go  to  Rome 
in  person  to  receive  the  pall,  unless  prevented  by 
serious  obstacles — when   the  latter  is   the  case  it 
is  solemnly  sent  to  him  by  the  Pope.     He  is  not 
permitted  to  engage  in  any  episcopal  duty  before 
receiving   the    pall ;     afterwards    the   vestment   is 
worn  only  at  High  Mass  on  the  following  days  : 
Nativity,    St    Stephen,     St     John,     Circumcision, 
Epiphany,    Palm     Sunday,     Maundy     Thursday, 
Holy    Saturday,     Easter    Sunday,    Monday    and 
Tuesday,    Ascension,    Pentecost,    Feasts    of    the 
Virgin,  Nativity  of  St  John  the  Baptist,  all  days 
of  Apostles,  All  Saints,  Dedications  of  Churches, 
principal  local  feasts  in  the  diocese.  Consecrations 
of  Bishops,  Ordinations   of  Clergy,  Feast  of  the 
local    Dedication,    and    the    Anniversary    of    the 
wearer's  consecration.      The  Pope,  however,  wears 
the  pall  at  all  times  when  he  says  mass. 

*  The  pall  is  the  symbol  of  the  archiepiscopal 
authority,  therefore  it  may  not  be  worn  without 
express  papal  permission  outside  the  limits  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  archbishop.*"  When  he  dies, 
the  pall  is  buried  with  him,  but  it  is  only  placed 

*  We  give  a  figure  of  an  effigy  in  Mayence  Cathedral  to 
the  memory  of  Albrecht  von  Brandenburg,  who  died  in  1545. 
This  effigy  is  remarkable,  and  probably  unique,  in  represent- 


T^he  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         i  o  i 


on  his  shoulders  if  he  be  buried  within  his  own 
province,  otherwise  it  is  folded  and  placed  beneath 
his  head.*  The  pall  is  the  only  vestment  which 
may  not  be  lent  by  one  cleric  to  another. 


ing  the  archbishop  as  wearing  two 
palls.  Although  this  is  a  con- 
venient method  of  informing  the 
world  of  the  fact  that  the  person 
commemorated  held  two  arch- 
bishoprics (Mayence  and  Magde- 
burg), it  is,  of  course,  a  solecism, 
as  the  pall  of  the  one  could 
not  legally  be  worn  within  the 
precincts  of  the  other,  and  z'ice 
versa.  This  monument  is  espe- 
cially valuable,  as  it  clearly  dis- 
tinguishes between  the  cross-staff 
and  the  pastoral  staff,  which  are 
often  confused.  See  the  account 
of  the  pastoral  staff  later  on  in 
the  present  chapter. 

*  It  is  well  known  that  ecclesi- 
astics were  buried  in  their  Eucha- 
ristic  vestments,  with  a  chalice 
and  paten,  the  former  often  filled 
with   wine.       Much    nonsense   is 

talked  nowadays  of  the  piety  of  the  mediaeval  builders  and 
undertakers,  who  put  their  best  work  where  no  human  eye 
could  see  it.  "Unfortunately  for  this  theory,  the  chalice  and 
paten  were  usually  cheap  base  metal  (Canterbury  affords  one 
notable  exception),  and  the  vestments  were  often  an  inferior 
or  worn-out  set.      Economy  was  considered  then,  as  now. 


I02  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

We  now  come  to  a  singular  point  in  the  history 
of  the  pall,  and  one  which  has  so  far  baffled 
ecclesiologists  to  explain.  Although  the  pall  is 
generally  regarded  as  the  peculiar  emblem  of  arch- 
bishops, and  seems  to  have  been  kept  for  their 
especial  and  peculiar  use  by  the  rites  which  we 
have  described,  yet  a  few  favoured  bishops  have 
from  very  early  times  been  entitled  to  wear  this 
vestment.  The  bishoprics  which  possess  this 
privilege  are  those  of  Autun,  Bamberg,  Dol, 
Lucca,  Ostia,  Pavia,  and  Verona. 

The  pall  is  represented  on  several  monuments 
of  bishops  of  these  dioceses,  e.g.,  the  slab  of 
Bishop  Otto  (1192)  and  the  brass  of  Bishop 
Lambert  (1399),  both  in  Bamberg  Cathedral.  In 
illuminated  manuscripts  and  elsewhere  we  often 
find  figures  of  clerics  of  episcopal  rank  wearing  the 
pall,  but  holding  the  crook-headed  staff,  commonly 
supposed  to  be  the  insignia  of  a  bishop  as  distin- 
guished from  an  archbishop  ;  but  as  numerous 
examples  exist  to  show  that  the  latter  notipn  (like 
the  majority  of  popular  ideas  in  archaeology)  is 
erroneous,  this  combination  proves  nothing. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  distinguishing  the 
pall  from  the  rest  of  the  ecclesiastical  vestments 
would  lead  us  to  expect  some  remarkable  dis- 
quisitions on  its  symbolism.  This  expectation  is 
not  disappointed.  The  cross  on  the  back  and 
front  reminds  the  wearer  to  reflect  piously  and  in 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         103 

a  worthy  manner  on  the  Passion  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  holds  up  before  the  people  the  sign  of  their 
Redemption.     Such  is  the  old  view,  and  it  has  at 
least  the  merit  of  simplicity  and  religious  feeling. 
But,   unfortunately,   Amalarius,   in  his  dissecting 
manner,   draws    a  parallel  between    the    pall    and 
the   golden  plate  of  the  Levitical  High  Priest  ; 
this  clears  the  way  for  the  extraordinary  disquisi- 
tion of  the  pseudo-Alcuin  on  the  Tetragramma- 
ton  T\'\T\'^   (as  he   inaccurately  writes   it),   wherein 
Jod  signifies  *  principium,'  //^   'iste,'    Vau    'vita,' 
and   Heth   '  passio  '  — '  id  est,  iste  est  principium 
passionis  vitae.'     Honorius  thinks,  however,  that 
the  four  letters  typify  the  four  arms  of  the  cross. 
Innocent    III    and    others    tell    us   that   the    pall 
signifies   that    discipline   with    which    archbishops 
should  rule  themselves  and  those  set  under  them. 
As   Innocent's   account  of  the  pall   gives   as  full 
an  account  as  can  be  obtained  of  the  vestment  and 
its     ornamentation    and    fastenings,    we   give    an 
abstract  of  it  here  : 

'  The  pall  which  the  principal  bishops  wear 
signifies  the  discipline  with  which  archbishops 
should  rule  themselves  aud  those  set  under  them. 
By  this  the  golden  chain*  is  obtained  which  those 
receive  who  strive  lawfully,  of  which  Solomon 
saith,  ''  My  son,  hear  the  instruction  of  thy  father 
and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother,  for  they 

*  A  not  uncommon  comparison  for  the  loop  of  the  pall. 


I04  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

shall  be  an  ornament  of  grace  unto  thy  head  and 
chains  about  thy  neck."  For  the  pallium  is  made 
of  white  wool,  woven,  having  a  circle  above  con- 
straining the  shoulders,  and  two  tails  [lineae) 
hanging  down  on  either  side  ;  moreover,  there  are 
four  purple  crosses,  front  and  back,  on  the  right 
and  on  the  left.  On  the  left  side  it  is  double, 
and  single  on  the  right.'*  After  a  long  moraliza- 
tion  on  these  facts,  he  goes  on  :  '  The  three  pins 
which  are  fixed  in  the  pallium  over  the  breast,  on 
the  shoulder  and  in  the  back,  denote  pity  for  his 
neighbour,  the  administration  of  his  office,  and  the 
meting  out  of  justice.  .  .  .  There  is  no  pin 
fastened  in  the  right  shoulder,'  because  there  is  no 
trouble  in  everlasting  rest.  '  The  needle  is  golden; 
sharp  below,  rounded  above,  enclosing  a  precious 
stone,'  which  bears  a  variety  of  meanings.  If  we 
may  believe  the  Elizabethan  reformers,  the  pall 
was  an  expensive  item  in  an  archbishop's  insignia. 
Although  Gregory  I  ordained  that  it  should  be 
given  to  the  archbishop-elect  freely.  Jewel  speaks 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  giving  5,000 
florins  (^1,125  at  4s.  6d.  the  florin)  to  the  Pope 
for  his  pall,  in  addition  to  the  first-fruits  of  his 
province  ;  and  Bullinger  speaks  of  the  pall  being 
so  dear  that  '  in  gathering  money  for  it '  the  arch- 
bishop often  '  beggared  his  whole  diocese.' 

X.    The    Stockings,  or    buskins,    seem    to    have 
*  A  survival  of  the  old  method  of  wearing  it. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         105 


H( 


been  originally  appropriated  to  the  Pope  alone, 
bishops  being  content  with  the  somewhat  scanty 
sandal  already  described.  But  by  the  time  of  Ivo 
of  Chartres  the  caligae  had  taken  their  place 
among  the  articles  in  an  episcopal  wardrobe, 
is  the  first  writer  who  men- 
tions them.  In  the  middle 
ages  they,  like  all  the  other 
vestments  of  which  we  have 
been  treating,  forsook  their 
primitive  simplicity  and  be- 
came enriched  with  elaborate 
ornamentation.  They  sig- 
nify the  need  of  framing  the 
courses  of  their  feet  aright ; 
and  in  that  they  reach  to 
the  knees,  they  indicate  that 
the  wearer  should  strengthen 
the  feeble    knees  weakened 

by   heedlessness,  and  hasten    flete's  Episcopal  Stock- 
to  preach  the  Gospel. 

XI.  The  Subcingulum. — The  discussion  of  this 
vestment  will  be  more  difficult  than  that  of  any 
other  among  the  equipment  of  the  clergy  of  the 
West.  It  is  all  but  obsolete  at  the  present  day  ; 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  more  than  one  repre- 
sentation of  it  extant,  and  that  only  shows  a  small 
portion  of  it  in  an  unsatisfactory  manner  ;  and  the 


Fig.      14.— Bishop      Wayn" 


io6  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

references  to  it  in  ecclesiastical  writers  are  few 
and  far  between. 

In  antiquarian  or  any  other  investigations  it  is 
invariably  the  best  rule,  when  a  puzzle  is  set  for 
solution,  to  work  backwards  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown.  We  will  follow  this  course  in 
speaking  of  this  vestment,  and  commence  with  a 
description  of  it  as  worn  at  the  present  day. 

The  modern  suhcingulum  is  reserved  for  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  Pope.  It  takes  the  form  of  a 
girdle,  passed  round  the  alb,  and  having  on  the 
left  side  a  maniple-like  appendage.  This  seems 
to  have  been  the  form  which  it  had  in  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  for  in  an  '  Ordo  Missae 
Pontificalis,'  published  by  Georgi,*  we  read  : 
*  Primo  induit  (pontifex)  sibi  albam,  deinde  cinc- 
torium  cum  manipulo  ad  sinistram  partem.*  In 
the  century  before  this  Durandus,  in  his  '  Rationale 
Divinorum  Officiorum,'  writes  :  '  Sane  a  sinistro 
latere  pontificis  ex  cingulo  duplex  dependet  suc- 
cinctorium  'f — a  doubled  '  apron '  hangs  on  the 
left  hand  side  ;  and  he  likens  it  to  a  quiver,  in  the 
course  of  an  elaborate  comparison  between  the 
episcopal  vestments  of  his  time  and  the  spiritual 
armour  of  the  Christian. 

The  succinctorium  must  have  adopted  this  form 

*  Liturgia    Rom.    Pont.,  vol.    iii,  p.   556  ;    cit,  ap.   Rock, 
Church  of  Our  Fathers, 
t  Rationale,  III  4. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         1 07 

about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  At 
the  beginning  of  that  century  we  find  that  it  had 
its  use,  and  was  not  a  mere  ornament.  In  the 
*  Ordo  Romanus '  of  Cencio  de  Sabellis,  written 
at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,*  is  a  description 
of  the  new  Pope's  taking  possession  of  the  Church 
of  St  John  Lateran.  He  is  there  described  as 
being  '  girt  with  a  belt  of  crimson  silk,  hanging 
from  which  is  a  purple  purse  (bursa)  containing 
twelve  precious  stones  and  some  musk.'  These  all 
had  their  symbolical  meaning  :  the  belt  denoted 
purity,  the  purse  almsgiving,  the  stones  the 
apostles,  the  musk  '  a  good  odour  in  the  sight  of 
God.' 

Innocent  III,  writing  at  the  commencement  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  describes  the  vestment  as 
peculiar  to  bishops^  but  does  not  refer  to  it  as 
peculiar  to  popes ;  neither,  be  it  noticed,  does 
Cencio.  The  last  restriction  may  have  crept  in 
one  or  two  centuries  after  Innocent.  He  does 
not  enter  into  many  details  concerning  it,  but  he 
clearly  distinguishes  it  from  the  zona^  or  girdle, 
which  denotes  continence,  as  the  subcingulum  sig- 
nifies abstinence.! 

About  this  time  a  fresco  was  executed  on  the 

*   Printed  in  Mabillon,  Musei  Ital.,  ii,  p.  212. 

t  Were  it  not  for  this,  we  might  infer  from  the  other 
passages  quoted  that  the  succintoriura  was  simply  hung  on 
the  ordinary  girdle. 


io8 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


wall  of  the  Sagro  Speco  at  Subiaco,  which  remains 
till  the  present  day.  It  represents  a  Pope  fully 
vested,  but  under  the  folds  of  the  chasuble  on 
either  side  is  a  fretted  orna- 
ment which  is  certainly  not 
part  of  any  of  the  ordinary 
vestments  of  any  rank  of 
clergy.  There  is  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  regard  Dr  Rock 
as  correct  in  considering  this 
ornament  as  part  of  the  sub- 
cingulum. 

This  being  granted,  the  sub- 
cingulum  is  seen  to  be  a  girdle, 
from  either  side  of  which 
depends  a  lozenge  -  shaped 
'  lappet.'  We  shall  meet  with 
a  similar  lappet  in  the  eniyo- 
vaTiov  of  the  Greek  Church. 
Only  portions  of  these  lappets 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  fresco 
in  question,  but  enough  is 
apparent  to  show  them  to  be  lozenge-shaped. 

The  testimony  of  Cencio  points  to  these  lappets 
being,  not  mere  ornaments,  but  bags  or  purses 
hung  to  the  belt ;  and  this  brings  us  to  another 
stage  in  the  evolution  of  this  vestment.  We 
know  that  through  the  middle  ages  a  bag  called  a 
gypciere  hung  at  the  belts  of  civilians,  and  served 


Fig.  15. — Figure  of  a 
Pope.  {Temp.  Inno- 
cent III.) 


T^he  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         109 

the  double  purpose  of  purse  and  pocket.  It  is 
but  natural  to  suppose  that  the  early  clergy  found 
such  appendages  useful  even  in  divine  service. 
Let  us  now  go  yet  further,  and  see  whether  con- 
firmation of  these  theories  awaits  us. 

Honorius  of  Autun  in  1130  writes:  'The  sub- 
cingulum,  also  called  perizona  or  subcinctorium,  is 
hung  doubled  about  the  loins  ;  this  signifies  zeal 
in  almsgiving,'  etc. 

Note,  in  this  passage,  the  expression  '  hung 
doubled.'  This  can  only  refer  to  the  '  lappets  ' 
being  hung  one  on  each  side.  And  the  '  alms- 
giving,' which  Honorius  asserts  this  vestment  to 
signify,  suggests  a  purse. 

Other  writers,  in  the  century  preceding  Hono- 
rius, write  to  the  same  effect ;  and  even  as  early 
as  the  tenth  century,  in  a  manuscript  of  the  mass, 
w^e  find  a  distinction  drawn  between  the  '  cingu- 
lum  '  and  the  '  baltheum '  in  the  prayers  said  while 
vesting. 

In  short,  it  seems  probable  that  the  subcingu- 
lum,  with  its  appendages,  is,  like  several  other 
sacerdotal  vestments,  a  modification  into  an  orna- 
ment of  something  which  had  been  designed  for 
some  natural  requirement.  When  the  maniple 
became  too  narrow  and  too  richly  embroidered  to 
be  of  the  slightest  use  as  a  handkerchief,  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  the  priest  did  entirely  without 
some  resource ;  some  plain  piece  of  cloth  must  surely 


1 1  o  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

have  been  employed  in  its  place,  and  some  pocket 
must  then  have  been  required  in  which  to  place  it. 
Again,  some  receptacle  must  have  been  wanted  in 
which  to  place  those  comforting  metal  '  apples '  in 
which  hot  water  was  placed  when  the  day  was 
cold  ;  and  the  thumbstall  or  ponser,  the  thimble 
designed  to  keep  the  oil  which  adhered  to  his 
thumb  after  it  had  been  dipped  in  the  chrism, 
from  greasing  any  of  his  vestments.  It  seems  only 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  subcingulum  was 
originally  designed  to  supply  fhese  wants. 

XII.  The  Rational.  —  This  ornament,  obsolete 
now,  was  assumed  by  the  bishops  of  the  early 
years  of  the  middle  ages,  in  direct  imitation  of  the 
breastplate  of  the  ephod  worn  by  the  Jewish  High 
Priest. 

It  consisted  of  a  wooden  brooch,  overlaid  with 
enamelled  metal,  which  was  fastened  high  up  on 
the  breast  of  the  chasuble,  and  seems  commonly 
to  have  been  worn  when  there  was  no  central 
orphrey  on  that  vestment. 

The  shape  and  ornamentation  of  the  rational 
varied  altogether  with  the  caprice  of  the  artist 
who  designed  it.  Examples  are  extremely  rare  in 
inventories  of  cathedral  goods,  if,  indeed,  they  occur 
at  all.  It  is  probable  that  they  were  catalogued 
together  with  the  morses  of  copes,  with  which 
they  were  practically  identical  in  appearance. 

The   word    *  Rationale '   first    meets    us   in   the 


T^he  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         1 1 1 


expression  'rationale  judicii/  used  in  the  Vulgate 
-passim  as  a  translation  of  the  ro  \o^{iov  rr]q  KpiaewQ, 
by  which  the  Septuagint  expressed  the  breastplate 
of  the  ephod.  In  the  early  Church  writers  the 
word  'judicii'  was  dropped  and  'rationale'  used 
alone,  but  always  to  denote  the  Jewish  ornament. 
When  pseudo-Alcuin  wrote,  in  the  tenth  or 
eleventh  century,  the  ecclesiastical  rational  was 
quite  unknown,  for  he  says  :  '  Pro  rationali  summi 
pontifices,  quos  archiepiscopos  dicemus,  pallio 
utuntur' — a  statement  which  he  would  certainly 
not  have  made  if  anything  less  unlike  the  rational 
than  the  pallium  had  been  known  to  him.  Ivo  of 
Chartres,  too,  knows  nothing  of  the  Christian 
ornament,  for  although  he  does  not  say  definitely 
that  the  Jewish  rational  corresponded  to  the 
pallium,  he  says  that  it  corresponded  to  an  orna- 
ment conceded  {concessum)  to  the  chief  bishops  of 
his  time — an  expression  which  would  define  the 
pallium,  but  certainly  not  the  rational.  Honorius 
of  Autun  is  the  writer  in  whom  we  first  meet  with 
direct  and  unequivocal  mention  of  the  ornament ; 
and  he  begins  his  remarks  upon  it  by  definitely 
stating  :  '  Rationale  a  Lege  est  sumptum  '—Lege, 
of  course,  being  the  Levitical  law.  This  gives  us 
very  closely  the  limits  of  date  between  which  the 
rational  was  assumed — some  time  between  iioo 
and  1 1 30. 

The  rational,  if  we  may  accept  the  testimony 


112  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

of  the  monuments,  gradually  died  out  about  the 
fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century.  It  seems  never  to 
have  been  universal,  and  an  actual  rational  is  one 
of  the  rarest  ecclesiological  treasures  a  collector 
can  possess. 

Xlll.  The  Mitre. — Like  that  of  the  subcingu- 
lum,  the  history  of  the  mitre  is  a  curious  piece  of 
evolution  ;  but,  unlike  the  suhcingulum^  the  mitre 
can  be  traced  through  all  its  history  in  an  un- 
broken chain  of  literary  references,  monumental 
effigies,  and  actual  specimens. 

The  word  7nitra  (Gk.  /iiVoc,  ci  thread^  is  applied 
in  the  transitional  period  to  a  female  head-dress, 
and  even  St  Isidore  of  Seville  makes  use  of  the 
word  in  that  sense.  The  Septuagint,  however, 
occasionally  translates  the  expression  for  the  cap 
of  the  high  priest  by  ^aV^a  ;  at  other  times  they 
use  the  word  Ac/Soptc,  which  they  also  apply  to  the 
cap  of  the  second  order  of  the  Jewish  priesthood. 
The  Vulgate  follows  the  Septuagint,  sometimes 
using  mitra^  sometimes  cidaris^  and  occasionally 
tiara. 

The  advocates  of  an  origin  in  primitive  anti- 
quity for  Ecclesiastical  Vestments  make  much  of 
two  passages  which  are  certainly  obscure,  and 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  apostolic  times 
'  bishops '  wore  a  gold  -plate  upon  their  heads. 
These  passages  are  in  a  letter  sent  by  Polycrates  of 
Ephesus  to   Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,   about   the 


'The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,        1 1 3 

year  200  a.d.,  in  which  he  alludes  to  St  John  as 
'*  having  become  a  priest  wearing  the  gold  plate ' 
iyevi]Or]    up^vg   to    7reTa\ov   7re(j>of)r]fC0JQ  ;*    and    in    the 
writings  of  Epiphanius  of  Salamis  (circa  400  a.d.), 
in  which  he  says  of  James,   the  brother  of  Our 
Lord,  that  he  was  a  priest  after  the  ancient  rite, 
and  was  permitted  to  wear  a  gold  plate — hparev- 
(jai'Ta  auTOi'  Kara  rrjv    iraXaitiv  Upuxjvvi]    evpOjLUv    .    .    . 
Ka\  TO  TreTaXov  eirl  rfyg  K£(paXr}Q  £$^7^  civtm  (pEpeiu^'T  Cltmg 
the   authority  of  Eusebius,   Clement,  and  others. 
These    statements    are    so    hopelessly    vague    and 
confused  that  very  little  can  be  made  out  of  them, 
but  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  (i)  the  passages 
in   which  they   occur  are   largely  allegorical,  (ii) 
that  the  iriTaXov  seems  to  refer  to  the  gold  plate  of 
Jewish  priesthood,  and  that  the  expression  '  priest 
with  the  iriTaXov '  probably  was  used  currently  in 
the  early  years  of  Christianity,  much  as  '  mitred 
abbot '  is  by  us  at  the  present  day.      In  any  case, 
as  Dr  Sinker  says,J  it  '  is  plain  enough  that  if  St 
John  and  St  James,  or  either  of  them,  did  wear 
this    ornament,  it    was  an    ornament    '  special   to 
themselves  and  ceased  with  them,  affecting  in  no 
sense  the  further  use  of  the  church.' 

*  Ap.    Eusebius,     Hist.     Eccl.,     v    24.  ;      Migne,     Patrol. 
Graec,  xx  493. 

t  Contra     Haer.,     I    xxix  4  ;      Migne,      Patrol.    Graec, 
xli  396. 

X  In    Smith  and    Cheetham's     'Dictionary    of    Christian 
Antiquities,'  s.v.  r/!/tre. 


114  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Other  passages,  supposed  to  refer  to  this  or 
similar  practices,  bearing  dates  between  the  fourth 
and  sixth  centuries,  are  found  on  examination  to 
have  no  real  bearing  on  the  question.  The 
number  of  extracts  from  writers  of  that  time  which 
have  been  brought  forward  to  prove  the  antiquity 
of  the  mitre  is  considerable ;  but  those  which  can 
at  all  bear  consideration  apart  from  their  contexts 
are  all  vague,  unconvincing  and  inconclusive ;  some, 
indeed,  are  so  obviously  figurative  that  their  pro- 
duction is  only  an  amusing  illustration  of  the 
straits  to  which  the  believers  in  the  elaboration  of 
primitive  ritual  are  reduced.  And  the  evidence  of 
Tertullian  on  the  other  side  is  very  clear — '  quis 
denique  patriarches,  quis  prophetes,  quis  levites, 
aut  sacerdos,  aut  archon,  quis  vel  postea  apostolus 
aut  evangelizator  aut  episcopus  invenitur  coro- 
natus.^'* 

In  the  face  of  this  quotation  it  is  not  easy  to  see 
what  to  make  of  the  passages  in  St  Jerome  and 
elsewhere,  in  which  a  bishop  is  addressed  by  the 
expression  *  corona  vestra,*  much  as  we  use  the 
words  *  your  lordship '  now.  Dr  Rock  argues 
from  this  that  bishops,  even  so  early  as  the  fifth 
century,  wore  a  circlet  or  crown  of  gold  at  Divine 
service.  If  so,  the  use  must  have  been  confined 
to    Rome,    for   otherwise    the    Toletan    or    other 

*  *De  Corona  Milids,'  cap.  ix.     Migne,  ii  88. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         1 1 5 

councillors  would   surely   have  given    us  definite 
information  concerning  it. 

St  Isidore  of  Seville,  in  his  treatise  '  De  Officiis 
Ecclesiasticis,'  book  ii,  chap,  vii,  describes  the 
tonsure  as  indicative  of  the  priesthood  and  the 
regal  nature  of  the  church,  the  shaven  part  of  the 
head  representing  the  hemispherical  cap  of  the 
Jewish  priests,  and  the  circlet  of  hair  representing 
the  coronet  of  kings.  It  is  true  that  he  is  not 
speaking  definitely  of  bishops,  but  the  fact  that  he 
is  absolutely  silent  respecting  a  crown  of  any 
kind  other  than  the  crown  of  hair — for  which  he 
expressly  uses  the  word  corona — is  at  least  pre- 
sumptive evidence  that  the  crown  of  gold  was  not 
worn  in  his  day.  The  prophecy  of  King  Laog- 
haire's  druids  affords  a  very  curious  corroboration 
of  this;  sttpost,  p.  128. 

The  earliest  representation  that  Dr  Rock  can 
adduce  of  an  ecclesiastic  wearing  this  circlet  is  a 
figure  in  the  Benedictional  of  St  Aethelwold,  an 
MS.  of  the  tenth  century  at  Chatsworth.  Here 
we  have  a  figure,  the  brows  of  which  are  certainly 
encircled  with  a  gold  band  set  with  precious 
stones.  As  Marriott  points  out,  however,  this  is 
probably  more  of  a  secular  than  an  ecclesiastical 
nature,  and  may  indicate  the  royal  rank  to  which 
bishops  at  that  time  frequently  laid  claim. 

Menard,  after  a  careful  study  of  ancient 
liturgies,   came  to  the   conclusion  that  the  mitre 


1 1 6  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

was  not  in  use  in  the  church  prior  to  the  year 
looo.  Contemporary  art  bears  out  this  statement. 
Probably  the  earliest  genuine  representation  of  a 
bishop  wearing  a  head-dress  to  which  any  import- 
ance can  be  attached  from  a  liturgical  point  of 
view  is  an  illumination  of  St  Dunstan*  in  an  MS. 
(Claud.  A  3)  in  the  British  Museum.  This 
is  of  the  early  years  of  the  eleventh  century.  It 
shows  us  a  simple  cap,  low  and  hemispherical  in 
shape,  without  the  least  trace  of  the  cleft  now  in- 
variably associated  with  the  episcopal  headgear. 

The  fashion  seems  to  have  changed  with  con- 
siderable rapidity,  and  the  cleft  very  soon  began  to 
make  its  appearance.  Its  first  beginning  was  a 
very  shallow,  blunt  depression  between  two  low, 
blunt,  rounded  points,  one  over  each  ear — in  fact, 
a  depression  such  as  would  naturally  be  made  in  a 
soft  cloth  cap  by  passing  the  outstretched  hand 
gently  across  the  crown.  This  change  was  not 
long  in  giving  place  to  another  and  more  impor- 
tant modification.  The  mitre  was  turned  so 
that  the  horns  appeared  one  in  front,  one  behind, 
and  they  were  raised  a  little  higher  than  before, 
and,  instead  of  being  rounded,  were  made  of  a 
triangular  form.  The  mitre  in  this  shape  is  that 
universally  represented  in  MSS.  of  the  twelfth 
century. 

Little    difference   in    shape   is  traceable   in   the 
*  See  fig.  11,  p.  97. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         1 1 7 


mitres  of  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  fifteenth  or 
sixteenth  centuries.  During  these  four  hundred 
years  the  mitre  increased  considerably  in  size,  but 


Fig     16 -\    Bishop,    Salisbury      Fig.    17.-AN    Archbishop; 

^CATHEDRAL     (Jocelyn,      Twelfth  ^-^^^^^.''^IZ'^ll? 

Century).  ther  von  Isenburg,  1482). 

it  was  reserved  for  the  seventeenth  century  to 
stereotype  the  final  modification  in  form.  Hitherto 
the  two  horns  of  the  mitre  had  as  a  general  rule 


1 1 8  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

been  in  the  shape  of  plain  triangles,  bent  round  so 
as  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  outline  of  the  head  ; 
the  mitre  was  thus  cylindrical  in  outline.  By  the 
seventeenth  century,  however,  the  triangles  had 
been  made  spherical,  so  that  the  mitre  assumed  the 
form  of  a  pair  of  parentheses,  or  of  a  barrel,  which 
it  still  possesses.*  By  this  time  it  had  grown  to  a 
considerable  height — some  eighteen  inches. 

When  the  mitre  was  a  plain  cloth  cap  it  was 
kept  in  position  by  two  ribbons,  which  were 
knotted  at  the  back  of  the  head.  The  end  of 
these  ribbons  are  well  shown  in  the  figure  of  St 
Dunstan.  But  the  ribbons  very  early  lost  their 
usefialness  and  became  simple  ornaments,  and  the 
ubiquitous  embroiderer  was  not  long  in  seizing  on 
these  infulae,  or  lappets,  and  enriching  them  with 
needlework  to  the  best  of  her  ability. 

The  mitre  was  originally  made  of  plain  white 
linen,  and  until  about  the  twelfth  century  continued 
to  be  so  ;  it  was  occasionally,  though  by  no  means 
always,  elaborately  decorated  with  needlework. 
Such  simplicity,  however,  was  not  consistent  with 
the  spirit  of  the  age  which  followed,  and  we  find 
that  in  the  thirteenth  century  the  mitre  was  made  of 
silk,  and  invariably  overlaid  either  with  embroidery 

'■''  Traces  of  a  slight  *  bulge '  are  discernible  in  a  few 
examples  of  even  so  early  a  date  as  the  fifteenth  century.  It 
is  well  developed  in  von  Brandenburg's  effigy,  figured  on 
p.   lOI. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         1 1 9 


or  pearls  and  other  jewels.  To  such  a  length  was 
this  enrichment  carried  at  last  in  England,  that 
we  read  that  Henry  VIII  removed  from  Foun- 
tains Abbey,  among  other  treasures,  a  silver-gilt 
mitre  set  with  pearl  and   stone — weight   seventy 


ounces ! 


Although  properly  belonging  to  the  seventh 
chapter,  in  which  the  ritual  uses  of  the  various 
vestments  which  we  have  been  describing  will  be 
discussed,  it  is  necessary  here  to  detail  the  three 
classes  into  which  mitres  are  divided.  Unlike 
other  vestments,  which  are  classified  accordmg  to 
the  particular  liturgical  colour  which  predominates 
in  their  embroidery,  mitres  are  classified  accordmg 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  ornamented. 
The  background,  when  it  can  be  seen  at  all,  is 
white.  A  mitre  which  is  simply  made  of  white 
linen  or  silk,  with  little  or  no  enrichment,  is  called 
a  mitra  simplex  ;  one  ornamented  richly  with 
embroidery,  but  without  precious  metals  or  stones, 
is  called  a  mitra  aurifrigiata  ;  and  one  in  which 
precious  metals  and  stones  are  employed  in  its 
decoration  is  called  a  mitra  pretiosa.  The  different 
times  at  which  these  different  kinds  of  mitres  are 
worn  will  be  noted  in  their  proper  place  in 
Chapter  VII. 

The  papal  tiara  may  be  briefly  described  in  this 
place.  It  first  appears  about  the  eleventh  century 
as  a  conical  cap,  encircled  with  a  single  crown  at 


Fig.   iS.  — Pastoral  Staff  and  Mitra 
Pretiosa  (the  Limerick  Mitre). 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.        121 

the  brow  ;  assumed  about  the  time  of  the  growth 
of  the  earthly  power  of  the  papacy,  it  may  well  be 
regarded  as  symbolical  of  spiritual  and  temporal 
rule.  The  subsequent  modifications  through 
which  it  passed  were  few  in  number,  though  con- 
siderable in  character  :  they  consisted  in  the  addi- 
tion of  a  second  crown  by  Boniface  VIII  (1300 
A.D.),  of  a  third  by  Urban  V  (1362-70),  and  the 
swelling  out  of  the  body  of  the  head-dress  into  a 
bulging  form  about  the  sixteenth  century,  much 
about  the  time  when  the  mitre  assumed  the  same 
shape. 

XIV.  '[he  Episcopal  Gloves.  —  These  un- 
doubtedly owe  their  invention  to  the  coldness  and 
cheerlessness  of  the  early  churches,  and  were  in- 
vented simply  to  keep  the  hands  of  the  wearer 
warm.  But  about  the  ninth  century  they,  with  so 
many  similar  vestments,  assumed  a  more  sacred 
character,  anci  a  prayer  was  prescribed  for  putting 
them  on,  as  was  the  case  with  the  other  and  better 
established  vestments.  They  do  not  appear  to  be 
formally  mentioned  as  vestments  till  the  time  of 
Honorius  of  Autun,  who  draws  moral  lessons 
from  them. 

Throughout  the  middle  ages  the  gloves  were 
richly  embroidered  and  jewelled  ;  often  a  large 
stone  is  to  be  seen  on  the  back  of  each  hand. 

The  gloves  (cldrothecae^  or  manicae)  must  be 
carefully     distinguished     from     the     manicae    or 


122  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

brachialia^  the  sleeves  of  coarse  cloth  which  the 
bishop  used  to  draw  over  his  arm  to  protect  the 
apparels  of  his  alb  from  the  water  when  administer- 
ing baptism  by  immersion. 

As  the  hands  are  sometimes  covered  with  gloves 
and  sometimes  bare,  so  good  deeds  should  be 
sometimes  hidden  to  prevent  self-sufficiency,  and 
sometimes  revealed  as  an  edifying  example  to  those 
near  us.  So  says  Honorius  of  Autun  ;  perhaps 
this  is  as  satisfactory  an  exegesis  as  has  ever  been 
given  of  the  gloves  or  any  other  vestment. 

XV.  The  E-pis copal  %jng.  —  Although,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  ring  was  recognised  as  one  of  the 
special  marks  of  a  bishop  at  the  time  of  the  fourth 
council  of  Toledo,  and  was  regarded  by  St 
Isidore  of  Seville  as  a  special  article  used  in  the 
investiture  of  a  bishop,  none  of  the  liturgical 
writers  of  the  earliest  years  of  the  mediaeval  period 
notices  it ;  not  till  we  come  to  Honorius  of 
Autun  is  any  mention  of  it  to  be  found.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not  far  to  seek,  and  has  been 
given  by  Marriott.  Rabanus,  Amalarius,  Ivo, 
and  the  rest,  occupied  themselves  more  or  less 
with  the  supposed  connexion  between  the  liturgical 
and  the  Jewish  vestments,  and  therefore,  as  they 
were  not  writing  treatises  dealing  solely  with 
Christian  vestments,  they  omitted  all  mention  of 
ornaments  which  had  no  direct  bearing  on  the 
questions  with  which  they  were  engaged.     Hence, 


'The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         1 2  3 

both  the  ring  and  pastoral  staff  suffered,  as  the 
most  ingenious  torturing  could  not  extract  any- 
thing in  the  Levitical  rites  analogous  to  these  im- 
portant insignia. 

The  evidence  of  the  monuments  is  conclusive  on 
two  points.  First,  that  the  episcopal  ring  proper 
was  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  rings  worn  by 
the  bishop,  the  others  being  probably  purely 
ornamental  and  secular  ;  second,  that  it  was  worn 
on  the  third  finger  of  the  right  hand,  and  above 
the  second  joint  of  that  finger,  not  being  passed, 
as  rings  are  now,  down  to  the  knuckle.  It  was 
usually  kept  in  place  with  a  plain  guard  ring. 

The  ring  was  always  a  circlet  with  a  precious 
stone,  never  engraved,  and  it  was  large  enough  to 
pass  over  the  gloved  finger.  The  stone  was 
usually  a  sapphire,  sometimes  an  emerald  or  a 
ruby. 

Although  the  ring  is  distinguishable,  by  its 
position  on  the  right  hand  as  well  as  by  other 
circumstances,  from  the  wedding-ring,  Honorius 
of  Autun  (after  referring  to  the  ring  placed  on 
the  finger  of  the  Prodigal  Son  and  the  wedding 
ring  of  iron  with  an  adamantine  stone  forged 
by  *  a  certain  wise  man  called  Prometheus ')  has 
been  trapped  into  saying  that  the  bishop  wears  a 
ring  that  he  may  declare  himself  the  bridegroom 
of  the  church  and  may  lay  down  his  life  for  it, 
should  necessity  arise,  as  did  Christ. 


124  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

XVI.  The  Pastoral  Slaff.—Wt  have  briefly 
sketched  the  probable  origin  of  the  pastoral  staff 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  come  now  to  discuss 
the  forms  it  presented  and  the  connexions  in 
which  it  was  used  during  the  middle  ages.  As 
there  is  no  department  of  the  study  of  Ecclesias- 
tical Vestments  about  v/hich  so  much  popular 
misconception  exists,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enter 
into  these  details  at  considerable  length. 

As  utterly  unfounded  as  the  common  notions 
concerning  '  low-side  windows  '  and  crossed-legged 
effigies  is  the  idea  that  the  differences  in  the 
positions  of  pastoral  staves  as  represented  in 
sculptured  monuments  have  any  meaning  whatso- 
ever, secret  or  personal.  A  pastoral  staff  remains 
a  pastoral  staff,  and  nothing  more,  whether  it 
is  on  the  right  side  of  the  bearer  or  on  the 
left,  and  whether  its  crook  is  turned  inwards  or 
outwards. 

Synonymous  with  '  pastoral  staff'  is  the  word 
crozier  or  crosier ;  but  it  is  frequently  ignorantly 
applied  to  a  totally  different  object — the  cross- 
staff  borne  before  an  archbishop.  The  statements 
which  we  so  often  see  in  works  professing  to  treat 
on  ecclesiological  subjects  as  to  the  pastoral  staff 
being  crook-headed  and  borne  by  bishops,  the 
crozier  cross-headed,  and  borne  (instead  of  the 
pastoral  staff)  /?y  archbishops,  are  derived  from  a 
misunderstanding    of  the    evidence    of  mediaeval 


'The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         125 

monuments.*  The  truth  is,  that  the  pastoral 
staff,  with  which  the  crozier  is  identical,  is  borne 
by  bishops  and  archbishops  alike  ;  but  archbishops 
are  distinguished  from  bishops  by  having  a  staff, 
with  a  cross  or  crucifix  in  its  head,  borne  hefore 
them  in  addition.  In  many  monuments,  it  is 
true,  archbishops  are  represented  as  carrying  the 
cross-staff,  as,  for  instance,  the  brass  of  Arch- 
bishop Cranley  in  New  College,  Oxford  ;  but  it 
was  obviously  impossible  in  a  monument  of  this 
kind  to  represent  a  cross-bearer  preceding  the 
archbishop,  and  the  slight  inaccuracy  was,  there- 
fore, perpetrated  of  making  the  archbishop  bear 
his  own  cross,  thereby  substantiating  the  evidence 
of  the  fall^  that  the  person  represented  was  of 
higher  rank  than  that  of  a  bishop.  It  was  better 
managed  at  Mayence,  where,  in  the  monument 
of  Albrecht  von  Brandenburg,  1545,  figured 
above  (p.  loi),  the  figure  is  represented  as  bearing 
both  the  crozier  and  the  cross-staff,  one  in  each 
hand  ;  and  at  Bamberg,  in  the  cathedral  of  which 
city  is  a  brass  to  Bishop  Lambert  von  Brunnf 
(1399),  wherein  he  is  represented  holding  the 
crozier  in  his  left  hand,  the  cross-staff  in  his 
right. 

*  This  blunder  has  even  crept  into  the  ninth  edition  of 
the  *  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.' 

t  The  bishops  of  Bamberg  had  a  right  to  wear  the  archi- 
episcopal  pontificalia.      See  p.  102,  afite. 


126  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

In  the  earliest  representations  of  a  staff  of  office 
there  is  a  considerable  variety  in  the  shape  of  the 
head  ;  knobs,  crooks,  and  even  Y  -shapes,  all  meet 
us.  The  shape  probably  depended  on  the  shape 
of  the  branch  of  the  tree  from  which  the  staff  was 
cut,  much  as  does  the  shape  of  an  ordinary  walk- 
ing-stick. By  St  Isidore's  time,  however,  the 
crook-head  had  become  stereotyped  ;  the  number 
of  exceptional  forms  which  we  find  after  that  date 
is  small.  There  is  a  considerable  number  of  staves 
of  about  the  eleventh  century,  either  represented 
on  monuments  or  actually  existing,  of  which  the 
heads  are  tau-shaped  ;  these  possibly  betray 
Eastern  influence.  A  few  effigies  or  pictures  of 
bishops  remain  with  a  knob-headed  staff ;  an 
example  is  to  be  seen  in  a  ninth-century  Anglo- 
Saxon  pontifical  at  Rouen. 

The  crook-headed  staff  is,  however,  by  far  the 
commonest,  and  after  the  eleventh  century  the 
p  only,  form  in  which  the  bishop's  crozier  is 
found.  Some  variety  is  discoverable  in  the 
extent  to  which  the  staff  is  crooked.  In  some 
— notably  in  Irish  specimens  —  the  head  is 
shaped  like  an  inverted  U,  the  form  of  the  whole 
staff  being  that  represented  in  the  annexed  diagram; 
but  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  the  head  is 
recurved  into  a  spiral  or  volute. 

In  the  Irish  form  of  crozier  the  front  is  flat,  and 
shaped  like  an  oval  shield.     This  is  often  move 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,  127 

able,    disclosing    a    hollow  behind    it,   which   was 
almost  certainly  used  as  a  reliquary.* 

The  materials  of  which  the  pastoral  staff  was 
made  were  very  diverse.  The  stick  was  of  wood, 
usually  some  precious  wood,  such  as  cedar,  cypress, 
or  ebony.  This  wood  was  often  gilt  or  overlaid 
with  silver  plates.  In  the  twelfth  century  the 
staff  was  shod  with  iron  and  surmounted  with  a 
knob  of  crystal,  above  which  the  crook  proper 
was  attached.  The  crook-head  of  the  Irish  crozier 
was  of  bronze  ;  that  of  the  other  form  generally 
of  carved  ivory.  When  the  process  of  elaboration 
was  felt  in  this  as  in  all  the  other  sacerdotal  orna- 
ments, the  stick  as  well  as  the  head  was  often 
carved  from  ivory,  and  either  gilt  or  silvered 
heavily,  and  set  with  precious  stones.  Beneath 
the  crook  were  often  niches  or  shrines,  containing 
figures  of  saints. 

The  bronze  Irish  crozier  was  decorated  with  the 
marvellous  interlacing  knots  and  bands  which  are 
the  special  glory  of  early  Irish  Christian  art.  On 
the  flat  front  is  often  to  be  seen  a  plain  cross,  at 
the  centre  of  which  is  a  setting  for  a  precious 
stone,  and  in  each  quarter  an  interlacing  band. 
In  the  volute  form  of  crozier  a  different  style  of 
ornamentation  was  adopted  ;  the  surface  was  not 

*  The  ordinary  form  of  crozier  was  not  unknown  in 
Ireland  ;  the  well-known  crozier  of  Cashel  is  a  beautiful 
specimen.     The  crook  form  was,  however,  earlier. 


128  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

ornamented,  but  the  head  was  carved  into  solid 
forms  ;  in  the  centre  of  the  volute  was  usually 
represented  some  sacred  person  or  scene,  real  or 
legendary,  or  else  some  symbolical  device  or  con- 
ventional patterns.  It  is  hard  to  say  which  of 
these  two  forms  of  crozier  is  the  better  from  an 
aesthetic  point  of  view.  The  graceful  curve  of 
the  volute  certainly  compares  favourably  with  the 
somewhat  stiff  outline  of  the  Irish  crozier  ;  but 
the  feebleness  of  even  the  best  mediaeval  attempts 
at  representing  the  human  figure  in  miniature 
considerably  detracts  from  the  artistic  value  of 
the  volute  crozier  when  a  human  figure  is  intro- 
duced ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  incomparable 
excellence  of  the  Irish  metal-workers  transformed 
the  U-shaped  crozier  into  an  object  of  great  beauty. 
The  lines  of  the  knots  are  always  faultlessly  exe- 
cuted, and  the  ornamentation  is  invariably  in  good 
taste.* 

*  This  form  of  crozier  is   no  doubt  contemplated  in  the 
prophecy  attributed   to    the    druids   of  Laoghaire,   King  of 
Ireland,  as  cited  in  the  law- tract  known  as  the  Senckus  Mor — 
*  Tiucfaid  Tailginn  tar  muir  meirginn 

A  croinn  cromcinn,  a  cinn  tollcinn 

A  miasa  in  airthiur  atighe,'  etc. — 
that  is,  '  the  Tonsured  ones  shall  come  through  the  stormy 
sea,  their  staves  crook-headed,  their  heads  tonsured,  their 
tables  in  the  east  of  their  houses,'  etc.  It  is  worth  noting, 
apropos  of  what  was  said  on  p.  115  respecting  the  bishop's 
coro?2a,  that  the  words  'a  cinn  tollcinn' — 'their  heads 
tonsured,'  are  thus  glossed  in  the  MS.  —  '.i.  a  coirne  ina 
cennaib' — 'i.e.,  their  crowns  on  their  heads.' 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,        129 

The  following  copy  of  the  Lincoln  Inventory 
of  pastoral  staves  (1536)  illustrates  some  of  the 
points  already  noticed.  It  also  indicates  that  the 
head  and  staff  of  the  crozier  were  separable,  and, 
when  stored  in  the  vestry,  kept  apart  from  one 
another  : 

*  In  primis  a  hede  of  one  busshopes  stafFe  of  sylver  and 
gylte  w'  one  knop  and  perles  &  other  stones  havyng  a  Image 
of  ow""  savyow''  of  the  one  syde  and  a  Image  of  sent  John 
Baptiste  of  the  other  syde  wanting  xxj  stones  &  perles  vv*  one 
bose  [boss]  and  one  sokett  weyng  xviij  unces. 

*Item  one  other  hede  of  a  stafFe  copo^  &  gylte. 

*  Item  a  staffe  ordend  for  one  of  the  seyd  hedes  the  vvyche 
ys  ornate  w'  stones  sylver  and  gylte  and  iij  circles,  a  boute 
the  StafFe  sylver  and  gylte  wantyng  vij  stones. 

*  Item  a  stafFe  of  horn  and  wod  for  the  hede  of  copo'. 

*  Item  j  staff  covered  w'  silver  w^^out  hceid.' 

In  the  corresponding  inventory  of  Winchester 
Cathedral  we  find  entered  three  pastoral  staves 
silver-gilt,  one  pastoral  staff  of  a  *  unicorn's ' 
(presumably  a  narwhal's)  horn  and  four  pastoral 
staves  of  plates  of  silver. 

Suspended  to  the  top  of  the  staff  was  a  streamer 
or  napkin,  which,  like  the  lappet  of  the  mitre,  was 
called  the  infula.  This  was  originally  introduced 
to  keep  the  moisture  of  the  hand  from  tarnishing 
the  metal  of  the  staff.  The  symbolists  think  it  is 
a  '  banner '  of  some  sort  or  other. 

It  will  be  convenient,  before  proceeding  to  the 
discussion  of  the  next  vestment  on  our  list,  to  give 

9 


130 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


a  few  particulars  regarding  the  archbishop's  cross. 
This  is  necessary  owing  to  the  confusion  already- 
noticed,  which  exists  between  the  crozier  and  the 
cross  ;  but  as  the  cross  cannot  strictly  be  included 
in  a  catalogue  of  ecclesiastical  vestments,  we  shall 
make  our  notes  as  brief  as  possible. 

The  custom  of  preceding  an  archbishop  with 
a  cross  was  introduced  throughout  the  Western 
Church  about  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century. 
It  was  carried  by  one  of  the  archbishop's  chap- 
lains, who  in  this  country  received  the  name  of 
*  croyser,'  or  cross-bearer,  for  that  reason.  The 
cross  was  usually  richly  ornamented  with  metal- 
work  and  jewels,  and  often,  if  not  always,  bore  a 
figure  of  Our  Lord  on  each  face,  so  that  the  eyes 
of  the  archbishop  were  fixed  on  the  one,  those  of 
the  people  on  the  other. 

The  circumstance  of  highest  importance  con- 
nected with  the  archbishop's  cross,  so  far  as  it 
concerns  our  present  purpose,  is  this  :  the  prelate 
never  bore  the  cross  himself,  except  on  the  one 
occasion  of  his  investiture.  He  then  received  the 
cross  into  his  own  hands,  but  immediately  passed 
it  on  to  his  cross-bearer. 

The  Pope  is  often  in  mediaeval  monuments  and 
illustrations  represented  as  preceded  by  a  cross 
with  three  transoms  of  different  length,  the  upper- 
most being  the  shortest,  the  lowermost  the  longest. 
This  is  simply  the  result  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.         1 3 1 

the  artist  to  improve  upon  the  patriarch's  cross  of 
the  Eastern  Church,  which  appears  to  have  two 
transoms,  the  upper  transom  being  in  point  of  fact 
a  representation  of  the  board  on  which  the  super- 
scription on  the  cross  was  written. 

One  more  staff  may  be  worth  a  passing  men- 
tion— the  staff  borne  as  an  emblem  of  authority 
by  the  ruler  of  the  choir,  who  looked  after  the 
singing  and  behaviour  of  the  boys.  This  was  of 
silver,  with  a  cross-head. 

The  false  conceptions  about  the  crozier  have 
probably  arisen  from  an  inaccurate  etymological 
analogy  with  the  word  cross.  The  true  derivation 
connects  it  with  such  words  as  our  crotchet  and 
crook. 

The  symbolism  of  the  shepherd's  staff  is  naturally 
the  leading  thought  in  the  minds  of  the  mystics. 
It  was  probably,  however,  considered  too  obvious, 
and  they  cast  about  to  find  yet  further  secret 
meanings.  Thus,  Honorius  notices  that  the  Lord 
commanded  the  apostles  to  '  take  nothing  save  a 
staff  only '  when  they  were  going  out  to  preach, 
and  then  says  that  '  the  staff  which  sustains  the 
feeble  signifies  the  authority  of  teaching,'  and 
much  more  to  the  same  effect.  Innocent  III  says 
that  the  point  is  sharp,  the  middle  straight,  the 
top  curved,  to  indicate  that  the  priest  should  spur 
on  the  idle,  rule  the  weak,  collect  the  wandering. 
He  flirther  explains  the  fact  that  the  Pope  does 


132  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


not  bear  the  pastoral  staff  by  telling  us  that  '  the 
blessed  St  Peter  sent  his  staff  to  Eucharius,  the 
first  bishop  of  Treves,  whom  he  had  sent,  to- 
gether with  Valerius  and  Maternus,  to  preach  the 
Gospel  among  the  Germans.  Maternus  succeeded 
him  in  the  bishopric  ;  he  had  been  raised  from  the 
dead  by  the  staff  of  St  Peter.  And  this  staff  is 
preserved  with  great  reverence  in  the  church  of 
Treves.'  St  Thomas  Aquinas  supplements  this 
piece  of  information  by  telling  us  that  for  this 
reason  the  Pope  carries  the  pastoral  staff  when 
pontificating  in  Treves."^ 

The  episcopal  staff  is  alleged  to  have  borne  the 
following  inscriptions  :  round  the  crook,  *  Cum 
iratus  fueris  misericordiae  recordaberis  '  ;  on  the 
ball  below  the  crook,  '  Homo '  ;  on  the  spike  at  the 
bottom,  *  Parce.'  By  these  inscriptions  the  bishop 
was  warned  that  he  was  but  a  man  himself ;  that 
in  wrath  he  should  remember  mercy  ;  and  that  he 
should  spare,  even  when  administering  discipline. 
Whether  these  warnings  were  invariably  effective 
is  a  matter  into  which  we  will  not  inquire. 

XVII.  The  Tunicle. — This  was  simply  a  small 
variety  of  the  dalmatic,  appropriated  to  the  use  of 
subdeacons  and  bishops. 

It  differed  from  the  dalmatic  merely  in  being 
somewhat    smaller.      It  was    made  of  silk   or  of 

*  Sentent.  IV,  dist.  24,  quaest.  3,  art.  3,  ad  jin.  ed.  Parmae 
(1873),  vol.  vii,  p.  913. 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments,         1 3  3 

wool,  and  first  appears  about  the  year  820  as  a 
subdeacon's  vestment  ;  but  it  is  considerably  later 
than  this  that  it  appears  as  a  bishop's  garment. 
In  the  ninth  century  bishops  appear  with  but 
one  vestment  — the  alba  — under  the  chasuble; 
between  the  ninth  and  eleventh  centuries  the 
dalmatic  makes  its  appearance  ;  and  it  is  not  till 
about  1200  that  we  find  the  tunicle  illustrated 
in  paintings  or  effigies  of  bishops.  A  reference 
to  the  table  given  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
chapter  will  show  that  the  literary  evidence  points 
in  the  same  direction. 

The  tunicle  did  not  escape  the  common  fate  of 
all  the  vestments  of  the  mediaeval  church,  and  it, 
too,  became  overlaid  with  needlework,  first  in  a 
strip  across  the  breast  of  the  subdeacon,  then  (as 
this  would  not  show  under  the  vestments  of  the 
bishop)  on  the  rest  of  the  surface.  The  tunicle  on 
Bishop  Goodrick's  brass  at  Ely  Cathedral— one  of 
the  latest  representations  of  this  vestment  in  Eng- 
land—is  as  richly  embroidered  as  the  dalmatic. 

In  a  few  episcopal  effigies  of  the  thirteenth 
century  the  dalmatic  alone  appears.  The  tunicle 
being  worn  beneath  the  dalmatic,  and  being 
naturallv  smaller,  was  hidden.  This  difficulty  was, 
however,  very  soon  surmounted  by  the  simple  pro- 
cess of  shortening  the  dalmatic. 

Properly,  the  dalmatic  only  is  fringed;  the 
tunicle   of  the  subdeacon  seldom,  if  ever,   shows 


134  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

this  manner  of  ornamentation.     But  in  the  later 
episcopal  effigies  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon. 

XVIII.  The  Orale^  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  the 
Fanon^  is  described  by  Dr  Rock  as  '  an  oblong 
piece  of  white  silk  gauze  of  some  length,  striped 
across  its  width  with  narrow  bars,  alternately  gold, 
blue,  and  red.  ...  It  is  cast  upon  the  head  of 
the  Pope  like  a  hood,  and  its  two  ends  are  wrapped 
one  over  the  right,  the  other  over  the  left  shoulder, 
and  thus  kept  until  the  holy  father  is  clad  in  the 
chasuble,  when  the  fanon  is  thrown  back  and  made 
to  hang  smoothly  and  gracefully  above  and  all 
around  the  shoulders  of  that  vestment,  like  a 
tippet.' 

From  the  orale  being  supposed  to  represent  the 
ephod,  as  well  as  from  the  manner  of  its  being  put 
on,  it  is  probable  that  it  was  an  evolution  from 
the  amice.  It  is  not  mentioned  by  liturgical 
writers  before  Innocent  III,  and  does  not  appear  in 
paintings  or  monuments  of  much  older  date  ;  it 
therefore  seems  to  have  been  assumed  about  the 
twelfth  or  thirteenth  century. 

XIX.  The  Pectoral  Cross. — We  must  not  omit 
to  mention  this  important  episcopal  ornament. 
As  an  official  ornament  it  is  of  comparatively 
late  introduction  ;  it  first  appears  in  the  pages 
of  Innocent  III  and  Durandus,  and  from  the 
references  which  these  liturgiologists  make  to  it, 
it  was  evidently  regarded  by  them  as  exclusively 


The  Final  Form  of  Vestments.        1 3  5 


confined  to  the  Pope's  use.     Thus,  Innocent  says  : 
'Romanus  autem  pontifex   post  albam  et  cingu- 
lum  assumit  orale,  quod  circa  caput   involvit   et 
replicat     super    humeros'    for     certain    symbohc 
reasons  ;  '  et  quia  signo  crucis  auri  lamina  cessit 
pro  lamina  quam  pontifex  ille  [Judaeus]  gerebat 
in  fronte,  pontifex  iste  crucem  gerit  in  pectore.' 
Dr    Rock  has  been  unable  to  find    any  trace  of 
the  pectoral  cross  appearing  on  the  breast  of  an 
ordinary    bishop    before    the    sixteenth    century. 
Even   by  the  Popes  it  appears  before   this   time 
to  have  been  covered  by  the  chasuble.     Probably 
the  cross  was  originally  a  reliquary. 

On  p.  29  we  referred  to  a  MS.   of  uncertain 
date   in  the  monastery  of  St   Martin    at   Autun, 
which  details  the  vestments  worn  in  the  Galilean 
church   in    (probably)  the   tenth  century.      This 
gives  a  somewhat  different  catalogue  from  the  lists 
of  the  rest  of  the  Western  Church,  and  displays 
some  Eastern  influence.    The  pallium,  casula,  alba, 
and  stola  are  described  so  that  they  appear  iden- 
tical with  the  corresponding  vestments  elsewhere  ; 
the  maniple  also  appears,  under  the  name  vesti- 
mentum  parvolum ;  and  we  have  in  addition  the 
mamalia  or  manicae,  which  do  not  appear  in  any 
other  Western  lists  ;    they  are   said  in  the   MS. 
to    have    been   regularly    worn    'like    bracelets,' 
and   to  have    covered    the   arms    of   '  kings    and 
priests.'     This  points  to  vestments  after  the  style 


136  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

of  the   tTTijiiaviKia   of  the   Greeks,   which   will   be 
noticed  in  their  proper  place  in  Chapter  V. 

We  have  now  described  the  vestments  worn  by 
the  priests  of  the  Western  Church  at  the  Euchar- 
istic  service,  and  are  thus  in  a  position  to  give  a  satis- 
factory answer  to  the  question,  *  Were  they  adap- 
tations of  the  Jewish,  or  natural  evolutions  of  the 
Roman  costume?'  We  have  seen  that  the  jeweller, 
the  goldsmith,  and  the  embroiderer  conspired  to 
make  the  vestments  of  the  middle  ages  as  gorgeous 
as  possible,  and  that  therein,  and  in  some  few  other 
particulars,  they  resembled  the  Mosaic  costume  ; 
but  as  we  go  back  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  first 
ages  of  Christianity  all  the  glitter  drops  off, 
vestment  after  vestment  disappears,  till  we  reach 
the  three  plain  white  vestments  of  the  fourth 
century,  from  which  it  is  but  a  step  to  the  ordi- 
nary costume  of  a  Roman  citizen  of  good  position 
during  the  second  or  third  century  of  our  era. 
We  have  also  seen  that  all  attempts  at  drawing 
hidden  meanings  from  the  vestments  fail  ;  the 
results,  when  not  far-fetched,  are  contradictory 
and  unconvincing. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  HISTORY  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 
PROCESSIONAL  VESTMENTS  ;  THE  ORNAMENTA- 
TION   OF    VESTMENTS. 

IN  addition  to  the  garments  already  described, 
which  are  more  properly  appropriated  to  the 
Eucharistic  service,  there  are  a  few  which 
are  assumed  on  other  occasions  by  the  clergy  of 
the  Western  Church.  The  occasions  upon  which 
these  particular  vestments  are  worn  belong  properly 
to  the  province  of  Chapter  VII.  We  accordingly 
postpone  the  discussion  of  them  until  that  chapter 
is  reached,  concerning  ourselves  here  with  the 
development,  shape,  and  ornamentation  of  the 
vestments  themselves. 

The  vestments  which  we  have  to  describe  in 
this  chapter  are  the  cassock,  surplice  (with  its 
modifications,  the  rochet  and  cotta),  almuce,  and 
cope.     These  constitute  the  so-called  processional 


138  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

vestments  ;  a  misnomer,  because  they  are  not  ex- 
clusively appropriated  to  processions.  There  are, 
besides,  certain  others  of  a  more  general  character, 
not  strictly  falling  under  the  head  of  either  Euchar- 
istic  or  Processional  vesture,  and  they  will  be  more 
conveniently  described  in  this  chapter  also.  These 
are  the  canon's  cope,  the  mozetta,  the  Roman 
collar,  and  the  various  types  of  sacerdotal  head- 
dress. 

I.  The  Cassock,  —  The  cassock  was  the  long 
outer  gown  which  was  worn  by  everyone,  clerical 
and  lay,  male  and  female,  during  the  eleventh, 
twelfth,  and  succeeding  centuries.  When  it  was 
abandoned  for  the  very  much  more  convenient 
short  coat,  that  conservatism  in  ecclesiastical 
matters,  to  which  the  very  existence  of  ecclesi- 
astical vestments  is  due,  prevented  the  clergy  from 
following  the  example  of  the  laity,  and  left  the 
cassock  as  the  distinctive  outer  garment  of  the 
clergy  on  ordinary  occasions,  as  it  still  remains. 
The  dignity  attaching  to  a  long  garment  was  also 
probably  a  factor  in  causing  its  ecclesiastical  re- 
tention. 

The  Eucharistic  vestments  were  placed  over  the 
cassock,  as  the  cassock  was  placed  over  the  under- 
garments of  the  wearer.  But  it  was  so  entirely 
concealed  by  the  long  alb  that  it  could  scarcely 
be  regarded  as  an  essential  part  of  the  vestments 
for  the  Eucharistic  office.     The  case  was  different. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    139 

however,  when  the  priest  was  vested  in  proces- 
sional attire,  for  the  lower  end  of  the  cassock 
appeared  very  prominently  under  the  surplice, 
and  its  presence  was  consequently  essential  to 
complete  the  processional  outfit.  We  therefore 
discuss  this  vestment  under  the  head  '  Processional ' 
rather  than  under  the  head  *  Eucharistic/ 

Cassocks  were  originally  invented  for  purposes 
of  warmth,  and  hence  were  lined  with  furs.  This 
custom  was  retained  when  the  cassock  became 
exclusively  a  clerical  dress,  and  we  often  find  in 
monuments  of  ecclesiastics  indications  at  the  wrist 
that  the  cassock  was  so  lined.  The  colour  of 
the  vestment  was  invariably  black  for  ordinary 
ecclesiastics,  scarlet  for  doctors  of  divinity  and 
cardinals,  purple  for  bishops  and  prelates,  and  on 
high  occasions  for  acolytes  ;  for  the  Pope,  white. 
The  fur  with  which  the  cassock  was  lined  was 
ermine  or  some  other  precious  kind  for  digni- 
taries ;  but  ordinary  priests  were  strictly  forbidden 
to  wear  anything  more  costly  than  sheepskin. 
The  cassock  as  we  find  it  represented  on  mediaeval 
monuments  was  probably  open  to  the  breast ;  I 
do  not  recollect  having  observed  any  counterpart 
to  the  modern  cassock,  with  a  row  of  buttons  from 
neck  to  hem  (humorously  compared  by  Lord 
Grimthorpe  to  a  boiler  with  a  close  row  of  rivets!). 
In  some  parts  of  France  and  in  Rome  the  cassock 
is  kept  in  place  by  a  sash  ;  this  also  is  a  modern 


140  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

innovation  probably  suggested  by  the  custom   of 
members  of  the  monastic  orders. 

II.  The  Surplice.  —  From  its  fur  lining,  the 
cassock  was  called  in  mediaeval  Latin  the  pellicea  ; 
the  name  superpellicea  was  accordingly  given  to 
the  vestment  which  was  worn  immediately  over  it 
— a  name  which  has  passed  by  natural  phonetic 
modifications  into  *  surplice.' 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  alba  of  the 
second  or  transitional  epoch  was  a  very  much  more 
ample  vestment  than  its  successor  in  mediaeval 
times.  The  chasuble,  tunicle,  or  dalmatic  (some- 
times all  three)  had  to  be  put  on  over  it — an  im- 
possibility if  it  had  maintained  its  original  size. 
It  accordingly  was  contracted  in  size  in  order  to 
adapt  itself  to  the  new  requirements  ;  but  in  so 
doing  the  needleworkers  went  to  the  other  ex- 
treme, and  produced  a  vestment  which  threatened 
to  become  intractable  every  time  the  attempt  was 
made  to  put  it  on  over  the  cassock  when  the  latter 
article  of  dress  was  thick  and  lined  with  fur. 
These  difficulties  resulted  in  the  invention  of  a 
new  garment,  which  retained  the  amplitude  of  the 
old  alba^  and  was  worn  only  when  no  vestment  of 
importance  (except  the  cope,  which  was  adaptable) 
was  put  on  over  it.  This  was  the  surplice.  The 
alb  was  retained  for  the  Eucharistic  service,  as 
the  upper  vestments  would  lie  over  it  more  con- 
veniently. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    141 


The  surplice  was  a  sleeved  vestment  of  white 
linen,  plain,  except  at  the  neck,  where  there  was 
occasionally  a  little  embroidery  in  coloured  threads. 
The  sleeves  were  very  full,  and  hung  down  to  a 
considerable   length  when    the    hands    were    con- 
joined, as  they  generally  are  in  monuments.     The 
surplice  was  put  on  by  being  passed  over  the  head, 
exactly  like  the  alb  ;  the  modern  surplice,  open  in 
front,  and  secured  at  the  neck  with  a  button,  was 
invented  within  the  last  two  hundred  years,  and 
was  designed  to  make  the  assumption  of  the  vest- 
ment possible  without  disarranging  the  enormous 
wigs  which  were  worn  during  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries. 

III.  The  %ochet  is  a  still  further  modification  of 
the  alb.  The  sleeves  are  reduced  to  a  minimum 
or  totally  absent.  It  appears  to  have  been  worn, 
though  not  always,  by  choristers,  and  there  is  also 
evidence  that  it  was  the  form  of  surplice  favoured 
by  bishops.     Thus  we  read  : 

'  Item  8  surplices  for  the  quere. 

*  Item  3  rochets/i?r  children' — Inventory  of  St  Mary  Hill, 
London. 

'Bis  adiit  [Richardus  de  Bury]  summum  pontificem  Jo- 
hannem  et  recepit  ab  eo  rochetam  in  loco  bullae  pro  proximo 
episcopatu  vacante  ex  post  in  Anglia.'— Will,  de  Chambre, 
'Continuatio  Hist.  Dunelmensis,'  Surtees  Society,  1839, 
p.  127. 

IV.    The  Cotta. — This  is  a  surplice,  considerably 
modified,  which  has  the  advantage  of  being  cheap, 


142  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

and  is  accordingly  worn  as  a  substitute  for  the 
longer  surplice  in  poor  parishes.  It  is  a  sleeveless 
vestment,  of  crochet  work  or  crimped  linen,  which 
reaches  to  the  middle  of  the  back.  It  has  not  an 
effective  appearance. 

V.  'The  Almuce^''''  which  is  also  variously  styled 
the  Amys,  or  Amess,t  was  a  hood  lined  with  fur, 
and,  like  the  cassock,  designed  to  protect  the 
priest  from  cold.  In  winter-time  the  churches — 
never  very  warm — would  have  been  uninhabitable 
before  the  invention  of  heating  stoves,  had  it  not 
been  for  comforting  articles  of  apparel  such  as 
these. 

It  was  shaped  so  that  it  could  lie  over  the 
shoulders  as  a  tippet,  or  be  drawn  over  the  head 
as  a  hood,  and  it  must  have  been  very  necessary 
during  the  protracted  services  of  the  middle  ages. 
The  vestment  was  almost  always  of  black  cloth,  as 
was  the  cassock ;  and  the  fur  with  which  it  was 
lined  varied  in  quality  and  colour  with  the  degree 
of  the  wearer.  Doctors  of  divinity  and  canons 
wore  an  almuce  lined  with  gray  fur,  the  former 

■*■  This  word  is  a  curious  hybrid.  The  muce  is  the  Teu- 
tonic for  a  cap  or  hood  {cf.  Scottish  mutch,  German  Miitze). 
The  word  moxetta  is  connected  with  this.  The  al  is  the 
Arabic  article,  probably  attached  to  it  at  some  time  in  Spain. 

f  Both  objectionable  terms,  as  they  lead  to  confusion  with 
the  amice,  the  sound  of  all  these  words  being  practically 
indistinguishable. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    143 


being  further  distinguished  from  the  latter  by  the 
scarlet  colour  of  the  outside  cloth  ;  all  others  wore 
ordinary  dark  brown  fur.  A  singular  embellish- 
ment of  this  vestment  consisted  in  the  addition  of 
the  tails  of  the  animals  from  which  the  fur  lining 
was  taken  sewn  round  the  border  of  the  vest- 
ment. 

At  about  the  year  1300  the  almuce,  as  a  hood, 
was  superseded  by  a  cap,  which  will  be  described 
in  its  proper  place.     It  was  therefore  thrown  back, 
and   suffered   to  fall  behind,  somewhat   after  the 
fashion  of  the  hood  worn  in  our  modern  univer- 
sities.    In  order  to   prevent  it  from  slipping  off 
when  in  this  position,  it  was  sewn  in  front,  so  that 
an  aperture  was  made  through  which  the  head  of 
the   wearer  had  to  be  passed.      During  the  four- 
teenth century  it  gradually  almost  entirely  lost  its 
hood   shape,  and   became  more   and  more   like  a 
tippet,  the  only  relic  of  its  original  form  being  the 
two  long  tails  which  hung  in  front  somewhat  like 
the  ends  of  a  stole,  and  which  were  doubtless  the 
remains  of  the  strings  with   which    the   original 
hood   was   fastened.     The  row  of  '  cattes  tayles ' 
(as   the   Elizabethan    reformers  called  them)   was 
also  retained. 

When  the  almuce  was  in  position  on  the  head, 
the  fur  was  inside,  the  cloth  outside.  Obviously, 
when  the  vestment  was  thrown  back  over  the 
shoulder,    the    fur  would    be    outside,    the    cloth 


144  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

inside.  This  is  a  perfectly  natural  and  intelligible 
transformation.  Mrs  Dolby,  in  noticing  it, 
speaks  of  it  in  a  most  misleading  manner.  After 
describing  the  various  changes  which  it  under- 
went from  hood  to  tippet,  she  says,  '  By  this  time, 
too,  what  was  originally  the  outside  of  the  gar- 
ment had  become  the  lining,  and  the  fur  the  only 
material  rendered  visible,'  as  though  some  eccle- 
siastical ordinance  or  the  freak  of  some  clerical 
tailor  had  brought  about  this  transformation. 
And  Dr  Rock  says  :  '  Not  the  least  remarkable 
thing  in  these  changes  of  the  "furred  amys"  [as 
he  calls  it]  is,  that  it  became,  as  it  were,  turned 
inside  out.'  The  remarkable  thing  would  have 
been  if  anything  else  had  happened. 

At  Wells  Cathedral  is  the  monument  of  Dean 
Huse  [ob,  1305,  but  the  tomb  is  a  century  and 
half  later),  on  which  are  sculptured,  besides  the 
principal  efBgy,  a  series  of  small  figures  of  canons 
holding  books.  The  almuces  of  these  figures 
show  a  unique  peculiarity  :  the  tails  are  fastened 
together  on  the  breast  by  a  cord  which  passes 
through  them  and  hangs  down  with  tasselled  ends. 
Mr  St  John  Hope,  in  a  paper  in  *  Archaeo- 
logia,'  vol.  liv,  p.  81,  has  traced  the  history  of 
the  appearance  of  the  almuce  during  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries  by  reference  to  sculptured 
effigies  and  brasses  in  England.  From  this  paper 
I  extract  the  following  illustrative  examples  : 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    145 

I.  An  effigy  in  Hereford  Cathedral,  circa  131 1, 
shows  the  almuce  '  like  a  short  cape  down  to  the 
elbows,  with  long  and  broad  pendants  in  front, 
and  turned  back  round  the  neck  like  a  loose,  high- 
standing  collar.  The  chief  point  to  notice,  how- 
ever, is  that  the  vestment  is  quite  open  in  front 
and  not  joined  on  the  breast,  showing  that  it  was 
put  on  like  a  woman's  shawl.' 

2.  Another  effigy  in  the  same  cathedral,  circa 
1320,  shows  a  similar  arrangement  with  the 
addition  of  a  large  morse  to  fasten  the  almuce. 

3.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  pendent 
tails  became  common,  we  find  two  brasses  at 
Cobham,  Kent,  one  showing  the  almuce  clasped  on 
the  breast  by  a  brooch,  the  other  showing  it  open 
all  down  the  front  under  the  cope. 

4.  In  a  drawing  at  New  College,  Oxford, 
executed  about  1446,  the  Warden  of  Winchester 
College  is  represented  in  a  furred  almuce  not  open 
in  front,  but  the  Fellows  who  stand  near  him  wear 
almuces  laced  up  the  front.  This  drawing  is  re- 
produced in  *  Archaeologia,'  vol.  liii,  plate  14. 

5.  An  effigy  dating  from  the  very  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century  in  St  Martin's,  Birmingham, 
illustrates  the  almuce  as  it  appeared  when  the  cape 
was  joined  completely  across  the  breast. 

To  these  facts  we  may  add  that  as  a  general 
rule  the  two  front  tails  in  the  earlier  representa- 
tions of  almuces  have  plain  ends  ;  in  those  of  later 

10 


146  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

representations  (from  circa  1450)  the  tails  have  a 
small  ornamental  tassel,  or  tuft,  attached  to  their 
ends. 

VI.  The  Cope. — The  cope  may  date  back,  as  a 
vestment,  to  the  ninth  century,  but  in  that  form  it  is 
certainly  not  older.  Before  that  time  it  was  nothing 
more  or  less  than  an  overcoat,  which  the  clergy 
kept  on  in  their  cold  and  draughty  churches  or  in 
open-air  processions.  It  is  represented  in  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  pontifical  of  circa  900  as  a  plain  cloth  vest- 
ment, fastened  at  the  neck  by  a  brooch  or  morse  ; 
the  shape  is  similar  to  that  which  we  find  in  later 
times.  The  shape  of  the  cope  was  very  much  that 
of  half  the  chasuble.  It  was  secured  at  the  neck 
by  a  brooch,  and  suffered  to  drape  on  the  person. 


The  material,  at  least  in  mediaeval  times,  was  silk, 
cloth  of  gold,  velvet,  or  other  precious  stuffs.  It 
was  magnificently  embroidered,  jewelled,  and  en- 
riched with  precious  metals,  the  embroideries  con- 
sisting either  of  strips  along  the  straight  edges, 
which  hung  down  in  front,  or  else  of  these  strips 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    147 


combined  with  patterns  running  over  the  entire 
surface  of  the  vestment,  or  confined  to  the  lower 
border.  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  cope  or 
the  chasuble  was  the  richer  vestment  in  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries. 

The  cope,  being  originally  a  costume  for  out- 
door processions,  was  furnished  with  a  hood  at  the 
back  ;  but  when  the  almuce  took  its  place,  it 
degenerated,  like  so  many  other 
vestments,  or  parts  of  vestments, 
into  a  mere  ornamental  append- 
age ;  it  lost  its  hood  form  (which 
would  somewhat  have  interfered 
with  the  appearance  of  the 
almuce)  and  became  a  triangular 
flap,  usually  embroidered  with 
some  scene  in  sacred  or  legend- 
ary history.  In  many  copes 
these  hoods  were  absent,  while 
to  others  there  were  several 
hoods,  so  that  subjects  appro- 
priate    to    the     day    could     be 

hooked  on.     This  triangular  flap 

,       ,,  ,  ...  Fig.     19. — Brass     of 

gradually     assumed     curvilmear  archdmacon  Magnus, 

sides,    till    ultimately  the    angle   ?55T[s'hoJnT''pres: 
disappeared    altogether    and    the  •'^i°"^^   r^'TT^'  ^'''" 

rr  o  eluding  hooded  cope). 

flap  became  semicircular. 

The  *  morse,'  or  brooch,  with  which  the  cope 
was  fastened,  was  the  counterpart  of  the  rational. 


148  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


It  was  made  of  gold  or  of  silver,  or  else  of  wood 
overlaid  with  one  of  these  metals.  It  was  often 
enamelled  and  jewelled,  and  was  of  a  great  variety 
of  shapes. 

VII.  The  Canons  Cope, — This  vestment  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  cafpa  serica, 
or  ordinary  cope.  It  was  a  simple  choir  robe,  worn 
at  ordinary  services,  of  black  cloth,  permanently 
sewn  at  the  neck,  though  open  from  the  breast 
downwards,  so  that  it  had  to  be  passed  over  the 
head.  It  was  not  ornamented  in  any  way,  and 
probably  for  this  reason  was  not  popular  as  an 
object  for  treatment  among  manuscript  illuminators 
or  monument  sculptors  and  engravers.  A  hood 
was  appended,  which  usually  hung  on  the  back. 

VIII.  The  Mozetta. — This  is  a  cape  worn  over 
the  cope  by  the  Pope,  cardinals,  and  bishops  in  the 
Roman  Church.  It  is  of  white  fur  or  coloured 
silk,  according  to  the  season  ;  the  Pope  wears  a 
red  mozetta  bordered  with  ermine  when  holding 
receptions  ;  canons  in  choir  wear  a  black,  bishops 
and  (on  penitential  seasons)  cardinals  a  violet 
mozetta  ;  on  ordinary  occasions  cardinals  wear  a 
mozetta  of  red.  The  vestment  is  probably  a 
descendant  of  the  almuce,  and  kin  to  the  chimere. 

IX.  The  Roman  Collar. — This  being  an  entirely 
modern  vestment,  is  properly  outside  our  range. 
It  is  an  embroidered  imitation  of  the  turndown 
shirt-collar  of  ordinary  dress. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    149 

In  mediaeval  monuments  the  throat  of  the 
priest  is  exposed,  as  are  also  those  of  present-day 
members  of  the  older  religious  orders.  Con- 
siderations of  comfort  and  appearance  have  led 
to  the  adoption  of  this  collar  for  the  ordinary- 
clergy.  It  should  be  '  made/  says  Mrs.  Dolby, 
*  of  a  perfectly  straight  piece  of  fine  linen  or 
lawn,'  and  *  bordered  on  the  turnover  side  and 
along  its  short  ends  by  a  neatly-stitched  hem  of 
half  an  inch.  Opened  out,  when  made,  it  is  two 
and  three-quarter  inches  wide  ;  the  turndown 
should  be  not  more  than  one  and  a  half  inch 
deep.  .  .  .  The  Roman  coJlar  worn  by  a  bishop 
is  violet,  that  of  a  cardinal  is  scarlet.' 

X.  Ecclesiastical  Head-dress. — Pseudo-Alcuin 
expressly  contrasts  the  Churches  of  the  East  and 
West  in  this — that  the  Western  clergy  officiated 
at  the  mass  bareheaded,  which  was  not  the  practice 
of  those  of  the  Eastern  Church.  This  gives  us 
information  as  to  the  usage  of  the  Western  Church 
at  about  the  tenth  or  twelfth  century.  In  the 
following  century  a  cap  is  noticed  *  as  one  of  the 
marks  by  which  a  Churchman  might  be  known  '  ;* 
and  it  appears  in  inventories,  classed  along  with 
mitres. 

The  use  of  a  cap  at  Divine  service  was  a  matter 
of  special    papal    permission  :  thus,   Innocent   IV 
issued  an  indult  in  1245  ^^  ^^^  Prior  and  Convent 
*  Rock. 


150 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


of  St  Andrew's,  Rochester,  permitting  them  to 
wear  caps  [pileis  uti)  in  the  choir,  provided  that 
due  reverence  be  observed  at  the  gospel  and  the 
elevation.  Two  forms  of  cap  are  to  be  seen 
in  mediaeval  monuments  :  one  a  simple  dome- 
shaped  skull-cap,  called  hirettum ;  the  other  a 
circular  cap,  with  a  point  in  the  centre,  of  this 
shape  ' ^ — >,  which  was  peculiar  to  university- 
dignitaries.  The  latter  is  pro- 
bably the  ancestor  of  the  modern 
biretta  ;  and,  indeed,  in  a  brass 
of  Robert  Brassie  in  King's  Col- 
lege Chapel,  Cambridge  (1558), 
appears  a  head-dress  which  is  a 
connecting  link  between  the  two. 
The  head-dress  was  always 
black,  except  for  cardinals  and 
a  few  bishops  and  others  to  whom 
the  privileges  of  cardinals  had 
been  especially  granted.  These 
wore  scarlet. 

We  have  reserved  for  the  con- 


FiG.  20.— Bkass  of    elusion   of  this  chapter  a   more 
Robert     Brassie,      ,       .,     ,  ^     , 

detailed   account  of  the  subjects 

with  which,  and  the   manner  in 

which    these   various  articles   of 

sacred  apparel  were  decorated. 

Vestments,  as  represented  in  mediaeval  sculptures 

or  illuminations,  the   testimony  of  which  is  con- 


King's  College, 
Cambridge  (show- 
ing almuce  and 
biretta-like  cap). 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    151 

firmed  by  the  examples  which  actually  exist,  are 
not  as  a  general  rule  ornamented  in  a  haphazard 
manner  over  the  whole  surface.  The  ornamenta- 
tion is  usually  concentrated  into  patches  of  em- 
broidery or  jewel-work,  which  are  sewn  on  to 
certain  definite  places  in  the  vestment. 

In  describing  the  vestments  singly  we  have 
already  noticed  the  positions  in  which  these 
patches  of  embroidery  were  placed.  It  will  be 
convenient,  however,  to  bring  all  these  particulars 
together  and  briefly  remind  the  reader  of  them. 

The  alb  was  decorated  with  a  rectangular  patch 
on  the  breast  ;  another  on  the  back  ;  two  more 
above  the  lower  hem,  one  in  front,  one  behind  ;  a 
small  patch  on  each  cufF  (entirely  encircling  the 
wrist  in  older  examples)  ;  and  a  narrow  binding 
round  the  neck.  The  patches  on  the  hem  were 
sometimes  suspended  loose  from  the  belt,  and  the 
patches  on  the  breast  and  back  fastened  together 
and  suspended  loose  over  the  shoulders. 

The  amice  was  decorated  with  a  band  of 
embroidery  along  one  side,  which  was  practically 
the  only  part  of  the  vestment  visible  when  it  was 
in  position. 

The  stole  and  maniple  were  embroidered  along 
their  whole  length  ;  they  usually  ended  in  a 
rectangular  or  trapezium-shaped  piece  of  cloth, 
embroidered  with  a  different  pattern  from 
that  which  ornamented  the  rest  of  the  vestment 


152  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

(usually  some  form  of  cross),  and  fringed  along  its 
lower  border. 

The  dalmatic^  besides  the  peculiar  arrangement 
of  fringes  already  described,  was  ornamented  with 
a  series  of  horizontal  bands  of  embroidered  work, 
running  right  across  the  body  of  the  vestment. 
The  bishop's  dalmatic  was  usually  embroidered  all 
over. 

The  chasuble  was  almost  invariably  adorned 
with  an  edging  of  embroidered  work,  and  when 
the  body  of  the  vestment  was  adorned  it  was 
usually  with  some  of  the  many  modifications  of 
the  4^  or  Y  cross. 

The  sandals  were  sometimes  ornamented  all 
over,  sometimes  decorated  with  a  ^  cross,  the 
upper  part  of  the  cross  being  turned  towards 
the  toe. 

The  fall  properly  had  no  ornamentation  except 
its  crosses. 

The  stockings  were  either  not  embroidered  at  all 
or  richly  embroidered  over  the  whole  surface. 

The  rational  was  decorated  with  enamel,  gold- 
smith's or  jewelled  work. 

The  mitra  simplex  was  decorated  with  little  or 
no  adornment  ;  the  mitra  aurifrigiata  with 
embroidered  work  all  over  it  ;  the  mitra  pretiosa 
with  embroidery  combined  with  jewels  and  gold- 
smith's work. 

The  gloves   do  not  appear  to  have  been  con-* 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.   153 


spicuously  ornamented.     They  often  bore  a  large 
jewel  set  against  the  back  of  the  hand. 

The  tunicle  was  generally  quite  simple  ;  the 
bishop  tunicle,  however,  in  no  wise  differed  from 
the  dalmatic. 

Of  the  orale  a  full  description  has  already  been 
given  ;  we  need  not  again  refer  to  it. 

Passing  to  the  Processional  and  other  vestments, 
it  will  be  unnecessary  to  mention  any  but  the 
cope  ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  little  trifling 
embroidered  work  in  coloured  threads  round  the 
neck  of  the  surplice,  none  of  the  other  vestments 
showed  any  ornamentation.  The  cope  was  orna- 
mented with  embroidered  work  down  the  straight 
edges  in  front,  and  often  round  the  bottom  edge 
and  the  neck  as  well;  often  also  the  whole 
vestment  was  elaborately  embroidered  all  over. 
The  hood,  too,  must  not  be  forgotten. 

For  some  inscrutable  reason  a  distinction  is 
drawn  in  name  between  the  embroidered  ornaments 
of  the  alb  and  amice  and  those  of  the  remainder  of 
the  ecclesiastical  dress.  The  former  are  called 
apparels,  the  latter  orphreys. 

The  subjects  with  which  these  vestments  are 
embroidered  must  next  engage  our  attention  for  a 
s^hort  time.     These  fall  naturally  into  three  broad 

gi  pups  : 

\     Conventional  and  meaningless  devices. 

2.  Symbols  or  figures  of  Divine    or   beatified 


154  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

persons,  or  passages  of  Scripture  and  other 
religious  inscriptions. 

3.  Personal  devices. 

The  number  of  conventional  patterns  which 
meet  us  embroidered  on  ecclesiastical  vestments  is 
endless,  and  to  attempt  to  catalogue  even  the  most 
striking  would  be  an  undertaking  the  magnitude 
of  which  would  only  be  equalled  by  its  uselessness. 
A  small  collection  of  rubbings  of  monumental 
brasses  will  convince  the  reader  of  this.  Floral 
devices  are  the  most  common,  either  in  continuous 
scrolls  or  in  repetitions  and  variations  of  the  same 
pattern  ;  and  these  are  found  combined  with 
patterns  of  the  other  two  groups  to  fill  up  the 
gaps  and  spandrels  between  different  figures  or 
letters.  But  grotesque  and  real  animals,  wild 
men,  and  various  other  objects  of  natural  history, 
all  have  their  place ;  though,  if  the  evidence  of  the 
monuments  be  reliable,  these  were  not  so  common 
in  England  as  in  the  other  countries  which  yielded 
allegiance  to  the  Western  Church.  It  is,  of 
course,  possible  that  some  of  these  figures  may 
have  been  intended  as  emblems  of  saints,*  and 
others  may  have  been  heraldic  ;  but  it  is  probable 

*  For  example,  the  lamb  (besides  its  more  sacred  signifi- 
cance) may  possibly  be  taken  as  symbolical  of  St  Agnes,  the 
dragon  of  St  George  or  St  Margaret,  the  lion  of  St  Jerome, 
the  lily,  sun,  moon,  stars,  or  rose  of  St  Mary  the  Virgin,  md 
so  on  indefinitely. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    155 

that  the  majority  of  them  were  simply  ornaments 
with  no  other  intention  beyond  filHng  up  space 
effectively. 

The  symbols  of  Divine  or  beatified  persons  are 
of  more  interest.  These  are  usually  found  on  the 
centre  orphreys  of  the  chasuble,  on  the  edges  and 
hood  of  the  cope,  on  mitres,  and  on  rationais  or 
morses,  the  orphreys  of  the  other  vestments  being 
usually  conventional,  floral,  or  animal  devices. 
The  hood  of  the  cope  almost  invariably  bore  some 
emblematic  or  sacred  device,  or  else  some  scene  in 
sacred  or  "traditional  history  ;  the  edge  of  the  cope 
and  the  centre  of  the  chasuble  often  bore  figures 
of  saints  in  niches,  one  above  another,  or  else 
connected  scenes  from  the  life  of  a  saint  ;  while 
the  rationais  and  morses,  which  were  under  the 
province  of  the  enamellers  (and  were  consequently 
more  easily  decorated  than  the  embroidered  vest- 
ments), usually  displayed  some  more  elaborate 
design  in  miniature. 

Of  the  greatest  importance,  however,  are  devices 
of  the  third  order — those  which  display  the  name, 
initials,  rebus,  or  coat-of-arms  of  the  wearer  or 
the  donor  of  the  vestment.  In  monuments  these 
designs  invariably  are  connected  with  the  name 
and  family  of  the  wearer,  while  the  personal 
^devices  recorded  in  inventories  are  usually  con- 
■lected  with  the  donor.  The  reason  is,  probably, 
tjhat     the    vestments    catalogued     in    inventories 


156  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

originally  were  made  for,  and  worn  by,  the  donors 
thereof ;  during  their  lifetime  the  devices  showed 
forth  the  wearers'  names  ;  after  their  death,  the 
names  of  the  testators  :  while  the  monuments, 
which  were  supposed  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
represent  the  persons  commemorated  as  they 
appeared  while  they  lived,  would  naturally  pour- 
tray  the  vestments  which  they  wore,  or  might 
have  worn,  when  celebrating  mass  or  conducting 
the  other  offices  of  church  service. 

Mediaeval  priests  and  embroiderers  seem  to  have 
shrunk  from  placing  these  personal  devices  on  the 
chasuble,  though  such  ornamentation  is  not  alto- 
gether unknown  even  in  that  most  reverenced  of 
vestments.  Thus,  at  Arundel,  Sussex,  is  a  brass 
representing  a  priest  in  ecclesiastic  vestments,  in 
which  the  initials  of  the  wearer  occur  on  the 
chasuble.  The  cope,  however,  often  shows 
initials  or  other  designs'^  which  serve  to  identify 
*  Examples  of  an  entire  name  occurring  on  copes  are 
extremely  rare.  I  only  know  of  one — the  brass  of  Thomas 
Patesley  (1418),  at  Great  Shelford,  Cambridgeshire.  Initials 
are  common  in  almost  every  county ;  rebuses  not  quite  so 
common,  though  we  have  the  famous  ;z?^/>/^-leaves  (alternating 
with  M's)  in  the  cope  of  a  priest  called  Mapleton,  as  shown 
on  his  brass  at  Broadwater,  Sussex  ;  while  heraldic  devices 
are  fairly  frequent,  either  as  complete  shields  or  selections 
from  the  charges  borne  by  the  priest's  family.  The  brasses 
of  Wm.  de  Fulbourne,  at  Fulbourne,  Cambridgeshire,  and  of 
Thos.  Aileward,  at  Havant,  Hampshire,  give  us  examples  of 
both  these  methods  of  ornamentation.  ' 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    i^j 


the  wearer.  The  same  chariness  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  felt  with  regard  to  the  other  Eucharistic 
vestments,  possibly  because  they  were  not  so  ex- 
clusively appropriated  to  the  Eucharistic  service. 
Thus,  at  Beverley  Minster  there  is  a  sculptured 
effigy  of  a  priest  whose  entire  stole  is  covered  with 
a  series  of  coats-of-arms. 

As  I  have  already  said,  this  group  of  orphrey 
patterns  is  of  considerably  greater  importance  than 
the  other  two,  which  cannot  be  regarded  as  other 
than  mere  artistic  curiosities.  It  is  generally 
possible  to  identify  the  personality  of  the  priest 
commemorated  by  a  monument,  even  if  the  in- 
scription be  lost  or  defaced,  when  these  convenient 
symbols  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  orphreys 
on  his  vesture.  This  helps  us  in  assigning  the 
date  of  the  monument  ;  and  every  monument  of 
which  we  know  the  date  exactly  adds  something 
to  our  stock  of  knowledge  respecting  the  chron- 
ology of  mediaeval  art. 

As  giving  an  idea  of  the  number  and  variety  of 
the  designs  employed  by  the  embroiderers  and 
enamellers  to  decorate  the  vestments  of  the  church, 
it  has  been  thought  that  the  following  table  will  not 
^be  found  uninteresting.  It  is  a  classified  catalogue 
of  the  designs  enumerated  in  a  single  inventory  of 
a  single  collection  of  vestments,  the  inventory  of 
the  commissioners  of  Henry  VIII,  drawn  up  in 
1536,  of  the  property  of  Lincoln  Cathedral. 


158  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

It  has  not  been  considered  necessary  to  preserve 
the  uncouth  spelling  of  the  original,  especially  as 
some  words  are  scarcely  spelt  the  same  way  twice 
in  the  course  of  the  document.  Nor  has  it  been 
thought  worth  while  to  swell  the  bulk  of  the  list 
by  giving  details  as  to  the  parts  of  the  vestments 
on  which  the  various  objects  are  represented,  or  the 
frequency  with  which  those  occurring  more  than 
once  are  found,  the  purpose  of  the  list  being 
simply  to  show  faintly  the  variety  of  designs  at 
the  disposal  of  the  embroiderer  or  enameller.  It 
should  be  premised  that  this  is  by  no  means  a 
complete  list  ;  in  many  cases  the  inventory  gives 
little  or  no  information  concerning  the  decoration 
of  the  vestment  catalogued.  Most  probably,  how- 
ever, all  ornaments  of  interest  or  importance  are 
here  included  : 

Group  I 

Flowers  : 

Fleurs-de-Iys  (possibly  heraldic). 

J    .    '[-possibly  emblematic  of  St  Mary  the  Virgin, 

Biriis  and  beasts,  or  parts  thereof: 
Leopards. 
Harts. 
Falcons. 
Falcons   bearing  crowns   of  gold   in    their  mouths; 

(probably  heraldic). 
Swans. 
Ostriches. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    159 

Ostrich  feathers. 
Popinjays. 
Lions. 
Owls. 

Black  eagles. 
Peacocks. 
Gryphons. 
Dragons. 
Phoenix. 
Miscellaneous  : 
Knots. 
Clouds. 
Crowns. 

(Also     a     few    others,     properly     included     under 
Group  II.) 

Group  II 

Divine  Persons  : 

The  Holy  Trinity, 

Our  Lord. 

The  Majesty. 

The  Holy  Ghost,  Crucifix,  and  St  Mary  the  Virgin. 
Incidents  in  the  life  of  Our  Lord^  and  His  emblems : 

Our  Lord  with  the  Cross. 

The  Passion,  in  scenes. 

The  Crucifixion. 

Ditto,  with  SS  Mary  and  John  on  either  side. 

Ditto,  ditto,  the  Father  above. 

The  Ascension. 

Our  Lord  sitting  on  the  rainbow. 

The  root  of  Jesse. 

The  vernacle. 

The  Holy  Lamb. 

Crosses, 


i6o  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Members  of  the  Holy  Host  of  Heaven  : 

[Archangels,  angels,  and  images,  passim.] 

Two  angels  singing. 

Two  angels  incensing. 

An  angel  bearing  a  crown. 

Two  angels  bearing  St  John  Baptist's  head  (properly 

heraldic). 
An  angel  with  a  harp. 
Scenes  in  the  Hfe  of  St  Mary  the  Virgin  and  her  embkfns  : 
Salutation. 
St  Mary ;  on  the  left  side  three  kings,  on  the  right  two 

shepherds,  and  an  angel  with  '  Gloria  in  excelsis.' 
St  Mary  with  the  Holy  Child. 
Ditto,  and  St  Mary  Magdalene. 
Burial. 
Assumption. 
Coronation. 
*  Our  lady  of  pity.' 
Wm.  Marshall  (donor  of  vestment)  kneeling  to  the 

Virgin. 
Suns,  Moons,  Stars. 
Roses,  lilies.     (See  Group  I.) 
Other  Saints  and  their  emblems  : 

'History  of  Apostles  and  Martyrs.' 

St  Peter. 

St  Catherine. 

St  Catherine  (the  tomb  springing  oil). 

St  John  Baptist. 

St  Bartholomew. 

History  of  St  John  Baptist,  ^  Probably  in  different 

History  of  St  Thomas,  /  scenes. 

Wheels  (St  Catherine), 

Keys  (St  Peter). 

The  Majesty,  SS  Mary  the   Virgin,    Peter,   Paul, 

the  four  evangelists,  and  a  man  kneeling  to  them. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    i6i 

Various  Scenes  in  Sacred  History  : 

Eve  eating  of  the  tree. 

The  massacre  of  the  innocents. 

The  last  judgment. 
Uncertain  and  Miscellaneous  Subjects  : 

A  bishop  (probably  some  saint). 

A  king  (perhaps  King  David). 

Kings  and  prophets. 

Two  kings  crowned. 
Inscriptions  : 

The  hye  wey  ys  best. 

'Divers  verses.' 

Da  gloriam  deo. 

Gracia  dei  sum,  etc. 

Vox  domini  super  aquas. 

Cena  dni. 

Also  the  following,  which  form  a  connecting- 
link  between  the  second  and  third  groups,  being 
requests  for  prayers  for  the  donors  of  vestments : 

Orate  pro  anima  Magistri  Willelmi  Skelton. 

„  J,  Willelmi  Spenser  capellani. 

„  „  Magistri  Ricardi  Smyth  vycar  de 

Worseworth, 

„  „  Roberti  Dercy. 

Memoriale  Willelmi   Marshall   olim  virgarii  hujus 

ecclesiae. 

Group  III 
Heraldic  : 

Leopards  powdered  with  black   trefoils  (?  leopards 

ermine). 
'White  harts  crowned  with  chains  on  their  necks 
full  of  these  letters  S.S.' 

II 


1 62  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

Orphreys  with  diverse  arms. 

Mullets. 

'All  may  God  amend'   (Rudyng  motto),  together 

with  Rudyng  arms  and  badges. 
*A  shield  paled.' 
Arms  of  Lord  Chadworth. 
Names,  Initials ,  and  Dedicatory  Inscriptions  : 
Ricus  de  Gravesend. 

T.S.,  I.e.,  O.L.,  P.D.  (on  different  vestments). 
Ex  dono  Johannis  Reed  Capellani  Cantar'  quondam 

cantarie  Ricardi  Whitwell. 
Southam  ex  dono  Johannis  Southam. 
Ex  dono  M"  Willelmi  Smyth  archidiaconi  Lincoln. 

In  many  vestments,  especially  among  those  of 
early  date,  the  embroidery  is  of  a  distinctly 
Oriental  character,  which,  if  not  actually  Byzan- 
tine, is  founded  on  Byzantine  models.  These 
were  popularized  throughout  Europe  by  the 
Mohammedan  weavers  and  their  successors  of  the 
royal  establishment  in  Sicily.  Often  vestments 
are  found  bearing  Arabic  or  other  Oriental  inscrip- 
tions ;  these  are  sometimes  meaningless,  like  the 
patterns  formed  with  Arabic  letters  on  many 
Eastern  shawls  and  cloths  of  modern  times,  but 
occasionally  they  give  important  information  as  to 
the  date  and  origin  of  the  vestment  which  they 
decorate.  The  coronation  vestments  of  the  German 
Emperors,  now  at  Vienna,  are  of  entirely  Eastern 
character,  and  the  cope  bears  inscriptions  in  Cufic 
characters,  telling  us  that  it  was  made  at  Palermo 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    163 

in  1 133.  Occasionally  the  Eastern  ornaments 
and  inscriptions  are  forged  (alas,  for  mediaeval 
morality!),  in  order  to  counterfeit  the  workman- 
ship of  the  highly  popular  Eastern  looms.  Some- 
times we  find  clumsy  imitations  of  Arabic  words 
treated  ignorantly  by  the  forger  as  ornaments,  the 
word  being  written  correctly,  though  in  an  obvi- 
ously amateurish  manner,  from  right  to  left,  and  a 
replica  reversed  set  opposite  to  it,  in  order  to 
balance  it  symmetrically ! 

No  country  excelled  England  in  embroidered 
work  in  the  middle  ages.  Matthew  Paris's  story 
of  Pope  Innocent  IV's  admiration  of  some  English 
vestments  is  well  known.  His  holiness,  *  seeing 
some  desirable  orphreys  in  the  copes  and  infulae  of 
certain  English  ecclesiastics,  asked  where  they  had 
been  made.  "  In  England,"  was  the  answer. 
"  Truly  is  England  our  garden  of  delights,"  said 
he  ;  *'  truly  is  it  a  well  inexhaustible  ;  and  where 
much  is,  thence  can  much  be  extorted."  Where- 
upon the  Pope,  allured  by  the  lust  of  the  eyes, 
sent  his  sealed  letters  to  nearly  all  the  abbots  of 
the  Cistercian  order  in  England  (to  whose  prayers 
he  had  just  been  committing  himself  in  the 
chapter-house  of  the  Cistercian  order)  that  they 
should  not  delay  to  send  those  orphreys  to  him- 
self— getting  them  for  nothing,  if  possible — to 
decorate  his  chasubles  and  choral  copes.'  Matthew 
Paris  concludes  his  narrative  by  telling  us  that  the 


164  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

London  merchants  were  gratified  enough,  but  that 
many  were  highly  offended  at  the  open  avarice  of 
the  Head  of  the  Church.* 

This  leads  us  to  another  point  to  be  noticed 
with  regard  to  mediaeval  vestments — their  value  as 
articles  of  merchandise.  In  the  *  Issues  of  the 
Exchequer/  24,  25  Henry  III  (a.d.  i 241-1242), 
there  are  several  entries  of  expenses  involved  in 
purchasing  vestments.  Thus  we  find  4I.  19s.  paid 
to  Adam  de  Basinges  *  for  a  gold  cope  purchased 
by  our  command  and  placed  in  our  chapel  at  the 
feast  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord  in  the  25  th  year 
of  our  reign  :  also  to  the  same  24I.  is.  6d.  for  a 
cope  of  red  silk  given  to  the  Bishop  of  Hereford 
by  our  command  in  the  same  year  and  day  :  also 

*  Eisdemque  diebus  dominus  papa  videns  in  aliquorum 
Anglicorum  ornamentis  ecclesiasticis,  utpote  in  capis  chorali- 
bus  et  infulis  aurifrisia  concuplscibilia,  interrogavit  ubinam 
facta  puissent.  Cui  responsum  est  In  Anglia.  At  ipse,  \'^ere 
hortus  noster  deliciarum  est  Anglia  ;  vere  puteus  inexhaustus 
est ;  et  ubi  multa  abundant  de  multis  multa  possunt  extorqueri. 
Unde  idem  dominus  papa  concupiscentia  illectus  oculorum 
literas  suas  bullatas  sacras  misit  ad  omnes  fere  Cisterciensis 
ordinis  abbates  in  Anglia  commorantes  quorum  orationibus 
se  nuper  in  capitulo  Cisterciensi  commendaverat  ut  ipsi 
aurifrisia  ac  si  pro  nihilo  ipsa  possent  adquirere  mittere  non 
different  pracelecta  ad  planetas  et  capas  suas  chorales  adom- 
andas.  Quod  mercennariis  Londoniae  qui  ea  venalia  habe- 
bant  non  displicuit,  ad  placitum  vendentibus  :  unde  multi 
manifestum  avaritiam  Romanae  ecclesiae  detestabantur. — 
M.  Paris,  'Chronica  Majora'  (Rolls  Series),  vol.  iv,  p.  546. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    165 

to  the  same  17I.  i8s.  lod.  for  two  diapered  and 
one  precious  cloth  of  gold,  for  a  tunic  and  dal- 
matican  entirely  ornamented  with  gold  fringe  pur- 
chased by  our  command  and  placed  in  our  chapel 
the  same  year  and  day  :  also  to  the  same  47s.  lod. 
for  a  chesable  of  silk  cloth  without  gold  purchased 
by  our  command  and  placed  in  our  chapel  :  also  to 
the  same   7s.    2d.    for  an   albe  embroidered  with 
gold  fringe  purchased  by  our  command  and  placed 
in  our  chapel:  also  to  the  same   17I.  i  mark  for 
two  embroidered  chesables  purchased  by  our  com- 
mand and  placed  in  our  chapel.'*     The  same  year 
the  enormous  sum  of  ^82  was  given  by  the  King 
for  a  mitre. 

It  has  been  calculated  that  the  present  value  of 
money  is  fifteen  times  greater  than  it  was  in  the 
thirteenth  century.  Applying  this  principle,  we 
obtain  the  following  results,  which  give  a  clearer 
idea  of  the  value  of  the  vestments  purchased  by 
the  King : 

A  cope  costing  4I.   19s.  would  be  worth,  at  present  rates, 

X74  5s. 

A  cope  costing  24I.    is.  6d.  would  be  worth,   at   present 

rates,  ;f36i  2s.  6d. 

Tunic  and  dalmatic  costing  17I.  i8s.  lod.  would  be  worth, 
at  present  rates,  ^^269  2S.  6d. 

A  chasuble  costing  2I.  7s.  lod.  would  be  worth,  at  present 
rates,  £t,^  17s.  6d. 

*  'Issues  of  the  Exchequer'  (ed.  Dover),  p.  16. 


1 66  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

An  alb  costing  7s.  2d.  would  be  worth,  at  present  rates, 
£S  7s.  6d. 

Two  chasubles  costing  17I.  13s.  4d.  would  be  worth,  at 
present  rates,  £26^. 

A  mitre  costing  82I.  would  be  worth,  at  present  rates, 
^1,230. 

Even   if  we  allow  that  these  vestments,  being 
royal  gifts,  or  royal  furniture,  were  of  larger  price 
than  usual,  it  still  remains  evident  that  a  set  of 
vestments  was  an  expensive   luxury.     And  when 
we  consider  the  enormous  number  of  vestments 
which    were    existing    in    the    different    cathedral 
establishments,    we    can    hardly    wonder    at     the 
cupidity    of  Henry    VIII     being    aroused.        Mr 
St  John  Hope  has  calculated  that  in  Lincoln  (of 
which   we  possess   perhaps   the  fullest  set  of  in- 
ventories)    the     commissioners    of    1536     found 
125    red    copes,    7    purple,    20    green,    1^6    blue, 
9  black,  60  white,  2  yellow,  2  various,  and  perhaps 
4  for   choristers — 265   in   all  ;    16   red   chasubles, 
3    purple,   6    green,    11    blue,   5    black,   9   white, 
I  yellow  and  i    various — 52  in  all  ;   2   dalmatics, 
94  tunicles,  and   131   albs,  not   to  mention  other 
property    in    embroidered    work,    such     as    altar 
frontals,   or  in  precious  metal,   such    as   chalices. 
It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  assign  an  estimate  of 
the  value  of  this  vestry,  but  even  if  we  reckoned 
the  copes  at  ^^^50  of  our  money — a  low  estimate  in 
the  majority  of  cases — these  vestments  alone  would 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    167 


be  worth  ^13,250  together.  But  this  is  pure  guess- 
work and  of  no  practical  value  ;  of  more  import- 
ance is  such  an  entry  as  the  following,  from  the 
old  Durham  '  Book  of  Rites '  (printed  by  the 
Surtees  Society)  : 

*  Prossession  of  Hallozve  Thursdaie,  Wkitsondaie  ^  Trinitie 
Sonday,  by  the  Prior  and  the  Monnckes. — The  next  morninge, 
being  Hallow  Thursdaie,  they  had  also  a  generall  Prossession, 
with  two  crosses  borne  before  theme,  the  one  of  the  crosses, 
the  staff  and  all,  of  gould,  the  other  of  sylver  and  parcell  gilt 
.  with  all  the  riche  Copes  that  was  in  the  Church,  every 
Monnke  had  one,  and  the  Prior  had  a  marvellous  riche  cope 
on,  of  clothe  of  ffyne  pure  gould,  the  which  he  was  not  able 
to  goe  upright  with  it,  for  the  weightines  thereof,  but  as  men 
did  staye  it  and  holde  it  up  of  every  side  when  he  had  it  on. 
He  went  with  his  crutch  in  his  hand,  which  was  of  sylver 
and  duble  gilt,  with  a  rich  myter  on  his  head.' 

In  the  private  account-book  of  the  last  prior 
but  one  of  Worcester*  is  given  the  following  inter- 
esting bill  for  a  mitre  : 

*Item  to  John  Cranckes  gold  smyth  of  london  for  al 
maner  of  stuff  belongyng  of  the  new  mytur,  with  the  makyng 
of  the  same  as  hit  apereth  by  parcelles  foloyng  : 

In  primis  for  v  grete  stones  -  -  -  xvis  viijd. 

Item  for  j^]  &  vj   stones  prece  viijd  apeece  to 

the  frontes Ivijs  iiijd. 

Item  for  xxj   stones  sett  in  golde,  weyng  di. 

vnces xiijs  iiij^i-  ' 

Item  for  xl  medyll  stones,   prece  vjd  a  stone  xxs. 


*  Quoted  in  the  Builder,  7  July  1894.. 


1 68  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Item  for  "  &  xv  smale  stones  prece  iiijd  a 

stone,  to  garncsshc  -----  xxvs. 
Item  for  iij  vnccs  &  a  quarter  of  fyne  peerll, 

at  iij  li.  the  vnce iij*  li  xvs. 

Item  for  xij  vnces  of  medull  peerll,  at  xs  the 

vnce vj  li. 

Item  the  selver  warke  weys,  in  all ,"  xiij  vnces, 

w^hich  is  with  the  fassheon  &  all        -         -  xxiiij  li  xvjs. 
Item  to  the  broderar  vj  wokes  (?  zvekes)  xijd 

a  day,  besydes  mete  &  dryncke  -  -  xxxvjs. 

Item  payd  for  lynnen  cloth  to  covvech  ytt  on 

with  peril vijd. 

Item  for  sylke  to  thred  the  seid  peril  &  steche 

the  peerll  j  vnce  &  di       -         -         -  -  xvd. 

Item  for  yalovv  thred  -  -  -  -  -  jd. 

Item  for  Rybande  of  iiijd  brcde  ij  yeards       -  viijd. 
Item  for  Reband  of  ijd  brede  A  yearde  -  ijd. 

Item  for  Rovvnde  selk  about  the  bordure       -  jd.  ob. 
Item  for  red  selke  to  sow  hytt  with  all,  di. 

quarter  the  vnce       -----  ijd  ob. 

Item  for  past        ------   iiijd. 

(Item)  for  a  quarter  of  sarcenett  to  lyne  hytt   xiiijd. 
Item  for  a  case  to  the  mytur  of  Icthur  -  -  iiijs. 

Summa  xlixli.  xvs.  the  costc  of  the  mytur.' 

Before  parting  with  the  ancient  vestments  of 
the  Western  Church,  let  us  spend  a  few  moments 
on  another,  and  to  the  antiquary  a  melancholy, 
subject,  namely,  the  fate  which  has  befallen  them. 

The  number  of  actual  vestments  which  survive 
to  our  own  day  is  comparatively  small.  Notwith- 
standing the  scrupulous  care  with  which  they  were 

*   Sic,  should  be  viiij  or  ix. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments,    169 

kept,  the  action  of  time  and  probably  of  moths 
could  not  but  destroy  the  perishable  material  of 
which  they  were  made  ;  and  as  so  sacred  were 
they  regarded  that  when  a  vestment  was  worn  out 
it  was  burnt,  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  and  washed 
down  the  drain  of  the  piscina,  or  font  ;  so,  at  least, 
it  was  ordered  by  the  ninth  canon  of  the  Synod 
of  Dublin,  11 86.*  In  France  and  in  England, 
however,  far  the  greatest  havoc  was  wrought  in 
the  religious  and  political  troubles  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  the  former  case,  of  the  two  centuries 
preceding  in  the  latter. 

The  destruction  of  churches  and  church  pro- 
perty in  France  at  the  hands  of  the  atheistical 
mobs  of  the  Revolution  was  incalculable.  Monu- 
ments, glass  and  fabrics  were  broken  and  ruined,  if 
not  utterly  destroyed,  and  the  vestments  and  Pro- 
cessional crosses  were  torn  from  the  treasuries  and 
heaped  up  in  the  streets  to  be  burnt  in  bonfires. 
In  England  the  damage  was  perhaps  even  more 
considerable,  though  it  was  executed  in  a  quieter 
and  more  deliberate  manner.  In  the  reaction  after 
the  revival  of  the  Roman  faith  under  Queen  Mary, 
orders  were  sent  to  the  churchwardens  of  the 
different  parishes  requesting  returns  from  them  as 
to  the  relics  of  popery,  if  any,  which  remained  in 
the   churches  under    their   care,  and   the   manner 

"  Worn-out  vestments  were  also  found  useful  for  the  inter- 
ment of  ecclesiastics,  as  we  have  seen,  supra  p.  loi. 


170  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

in  which  such  superstitious  objects  had  been  dis- 
posed of,  whenever  they  had  been  removed.  A 
very  perfect  series  of  these  returns  exists  for 
Lincolnshire,  and  they  have  been  edited  by  Mr 
Edward  Peacock,  F.S.A.,  in  a  highly-interesting 
volume  entitled  '  English  Church  Furniture  and 
Decorations,'  published  in  1866.  In  each  return  is 
a  note  describing  what  was  done  with  the  vestments 
and  other  pre-Reformation  furniture  of  the  church 
to  which  the  return  relates.  From  them  we  extract 
the  following  entries,  which  may  serve  as  speci- 
mens of  the  varied  fate  of  vestments,  not  only  in 
the  county  of  Lincoln,  but  throughout  the  country  : 

Jllford.  Itm  one  cope  whearof  is  made  a  clothe  for  the 
colon  table  [a  frequent  entry]. 

Itm  one  vestment  [chasuble]  sold  and  dcfacid  [a  frequent 
entry]. 

Ashbie  iuxa  Sleford.  Itm  vestmetes  copes  crosses  aulbes 
phanelles  crosse  clothes  banner  clothes  and  all  such  lyke 
ymplements — stolle  out  of  or  churche  in  quene  maries  tyme. 

Ashbie  iuxa  Spillisbie.  Itm  one  vestmt  with  crose  clothes 
— geven  to  the  poore  Ao  iij°  Regine  Elizabth  [a  frequent 
entry]. 

Itfn  an  alb — whearof  wee  have  made  a  surples  [a  frequent 
entry]. 

iAswardbie.  Itni  two  vestmentes  were  cut  in  peces  yester- 
daie  and  sold  to  Thomas  waite  and  george  holmes  and  the' 
haue  put  them  to  prophane  vse. 

Bomnbie.  Itm  a  vestm*  and  ye  rest  as  fanells,  stooles  and 
such  like — brent  iiij  yeare  ago  pte  of  the  same  and  the  rest 
hath  made  quishwines  of  John  Michill  and  James  Totter  then 
churchwarden. 


History  of  the  Processional  VestmeJits.    171 

So  we  find  at  Braceby  an  alb  made  a  covering 
for  the  font.  At  Castlebytham  we  find  '  one  cope 
one  vestment  and  one  albe  '  were  '  sold  to  Thomas 
Inma'  for  the  some  of  Vs.  Vpon  sondaie  was  a 
sevenighte  wch  he  haith  defaced  and  cutt  in  peces.' 
Elsewhere,  a  vestment  was  made  into  a  'dublett,' 
others  into  *  clorvtes  for  children,'  or  '  hangings 
for  a  bedd.'  Some  churches  had  lost  their  vest- 
ments in  the  Edwardian  Reformation,  and  conse- 
quently, when  they  were  required  again  in  Queen 
Mary's  reign,  substitutes  had  to  be  borrowed  from 
private  owners.  These  were  *  restored  '  to  their 
possessors  ;  in  a  few  cases  the  churchwardens 
thoughtfully  cut  them  in  pieces  before  doing  so. 

There  is  one  other  series  of  vestments  which 
deserves  a  passing  notice — the  vestments  in  which 
the  newly-baptized  were  clothed.  In  the  sixth  or 
seventh  century  these  consisted  of  the  alha^  the 
sabanum,  the  chrismale,  and  the  garland.  The 
alba  was  probably  similar  to  the  clerical  alba  ;  the 
form  of  the  sabanum  {aa^avov)  is  uncertain,  but  it 
was  possibly  not  more  than  its  name  implies — 
simply  a  towel.  The  chrismale  was  a  piece  of 
white  linen  tied  on  the  head,  intended  to  keep  the 
chrism  in  its  place  during  the  week  in  which 
these  vestments  were  worn.  The  garland  was  a 
chaplet  of  flowers  with  which  the  baptized  were 
crowned  after  baptism. 

There    is    a   rite  in   the    Armenian    Church  in 


172 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


havin 


which  the  priest  twists  two  threads,  one  white  and 
one  red,  lifts  them  up  under  the  cross,  and  then 
lays  them  on  the  person  to  be  baptized.  The 
white  and  red  is  obviously  symbolical  of  the 
mingled  blood  and  water  which  flowed  from  our 
Lord's  side,  but  there  are  obscure  traces  in  early 
writers  which  seem  to  indicate  that  this  observance 
was  ot  more  general  acceptance,  and  that  the 
present  rite  is  a  corruption  of  something  quite 
different.  Durandus,  in  the  '  Rationale  Div. 
Off.,'  vi,  c.  82,  speaks  of  the  alba  of  baptism 
it  a  red  band  like  a  '  corona,'  and 
elsewhere  we  find  a  combination  of 
red  and  white  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  robes  of  the 
neophytes. 

These  vestments  were  worn 
throughout  the  week  after  baptism, 
and  put  off  on  the  Sunday  follow- 
ing, hence  called  Dominica  in  albis 
depositis.  They  were  either  re- 
tained after  baptism  as  a  memorial 
of  the  sacrament — and  often  used 
as  shrouds  after  death — or  else  pre- 
sented to  the  church  by  the  baptized. 
In  the  mediaeval  church  this 
comparatively  elaborate  suit  was 
reduced  to  one  cloth,  the  chrysome,  or  chrism 
cloth,  in  which  the  body  of  a  newly-baptized  infant 


Fig.  21. 


History  of  the  Processional  Vestments.    173 


was  swathed.  This  cloth  was  kept  upon  the  child 
for  a  month,  and  if  it  died  within  the  month  the 
child  was  buried  in  it  as  a  shroud.  Several  monu- 
mental brasses  are  extant  in  which  children  are 
represented  in  their  baptismal  robes  ;  we  repro- 
duce an  example  in  Chesham  Bois  Church, 
Buckinghamshire.  In  the  modern  Roman  Church 
the  white  cloth  is  merely  placed  on  the  head  ;  it  is 
now  too  small  to  cover  the  body. 


Fig.  22.— a  Cope  Chest,  York  Minster. 
The  chrism  cloth  was  taken  off  if  the  child 
survived  till  the  end  of  the  month,  and  returned 
to  the  church,  in  whose  custody  it^  was  kept. 
These  cloths  were  used  for  the  reparation  of  vest- 
ments and  altar  hangings,  and  other  sacred  textile 
fabrics  connected  with  the  church.  Thus  in  the 
Treasurer's  Rolls  for  Ripon  we  read  (1470-71) 
the  following  entries  : 


174  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

'  Est  de  cc'^^Ixvj  veslibus  crismalibus  de  reman,  ultimi 
compoti  praedicti.  Et  de  c'^^iij  vestibus  crismalibus  rec.  de 
tot  pueris  baptizatis  hoc  anno.  Summa  ccciiij-'^'^ix.*  De 
quibus. 

*  In  sepultura  puerorum  viij.  Et  in  reparacione  vesti- 
mentorum,  xiiij.  Et  liberantur  pro  manutcrgiis  inde  fiendis, 
ordinatis  pro  expensis  ecclesiae,  ix.  Et  liberantur  pro 
calicibus  involvendis  et  aliis  necessariis  ejusdem  ecclesiae, 
vj.      Summa  xxxvij.      Et  reman.  ccc"^^lij  vestes  crismales.'f 

■*  There  is  an  error  of  twenty  somewhere  in  this  calcula- 
tion. 

t   '  Memorials  of  Ripon,'  vol.  iii,  p.  219  (Surtees  Society). 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    VESTMENTS    OF    THE    EASTERN     CHURCHES. 


THE  proverbial  conservatism  of  the  un- 
changing East,  which  is  felt  in  all 
ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  social  matters, 
will  make  our  task  in  the  present  chapter  much 
lighter.  The  action  of  evolution,  which  makes 
the  history  of  the  Western  vestments  so  complex, 
is  hardly  felt  in  the  East.  The  mediaevalism, 
or,  rather,  primaevalism,  which  shuts  out  in- 
strumental aid  from  the  musical  portions  of  the 
Eastern  service  acts  upon  vestments  in  minimiz- 
ing the  profusion  of  ornamentation  which  plays 
such  an  important  part  in  the  externals  of  Western 
ritual. 

One  of  our  earliest  authorities  on  the  subject  of 
Eastern  vesture  is  St  Germanus  of  Constantinople 
(circa  715  a.d.).  In  his  treatise  Mvcttikyj  Qewpia 
he  enters  at  considerable  length  into  a  discussion 
of  Ecclesiastical  Vestments  and  also  of  Monastic 


176  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Costume,  giving  details,  which  are  curious,  but  of 
little  or  no  value,  concerning  the  alleged  sym- 
bolic meanings  which  they  bear. 

In  the  present  chapter  we  have  to  discuss  the 
vestments  of  the  principal  Eastern  Churches — the 
Orthodox  '  Greek  '  Church,  so  called,  the  Armenian 
Church,  and  the  remote  body  of  Christians  on  the 
coast  of  Malabar.  The  general  appearance  and 
style  of  the  vestments  of  these  churches  is  similar  ; 
there  are,  however,  minor  differences,  which  will 
appear  as  we  proceed. 

The  vestments  and  personal  ornaments  of  the 
Orthodox  Greek  Church  are  as  follows  : 

I.  The  (Troiy6.pLov. 

II.  The  eTTiiiavLKLa. 

III.  The  e7rtT/3ax>yAioi/. 

IV.  The  (hpdpLov. 
V.  The  ^a>vrj. 

VI.  The  cfyaLvoXtou. 

VII.  The  eTTtyovaTtcv. 

VIII.  The  (j!)/xo(f>6piov. 

IX.  The  fxdvSvas. 

X.  The  x^H-"-^^^XV- 

XI.  The  €^(x})(^aiJ.aXav)(7j, 

XII.  The  Traripeorcra. 

XIII.  The  lyKoATTtov. 

XIV.  The  craKKos. 

The  Armenian  vestments  are  as  follows  : 

I.  The  Vakass. 

II.   The  Shapich. 

III.  The  Poor-ourar. 


The  Vestments  of  the  Eastern  Churches,    177 

IV.  The  Kodi. 
V.  The  Pasbans. 
VI.  The  Shoochar. 
VII.   The  Sagavard. 


Fig.  23.— Armenian  Priest. 


The  Malabar  vestments  are 


I. 

The  Cuthino. 

II. 

The  Orro. 

III. 

The  Zunro. 

IV. 

The  Zando. 

V. 

The  Phaino. 

VI. 

The  Cap  and  Shoes 

12 


178 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


I.  The  GToiyapiov  was,  and  is,  identical  with  the 
Roman  alba.  The  word  is  of  uncertain  etymo- 
logy, and  none  of  the  guesses  which  have  been 
made  are  at  all  satisfactory.  Like  the  alba,  it  was 
originally  a  garment  of  secular  use  ;  this  we  infer 


Fig.  24. — Malabar  Priest. 

from  the  Apologia  contra  Arianos,^  where  we  read 
that  one  charge  (among  others)  which  was  brought 
against  Athanasius  was  that  he  had  required  the 
Egyptians  to  furnish  linen  (sroiyapm.  Germanus 
says  of  the  vestment,  '  being  white,  the  aroiyapiov 
*  'Patrol.  Graec./  xxv,  358. 


Fig.  25. — Deacon  in 


<XTOLX<^P'-oi' ,  uipapioi',  AND  eTTifxauLKia. 


i8o  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

signifies  the  glory  of  the  Godhead  and  the  bright 
citizenship  of  priests.  The  stripes  of  the  aroiyapiov 
on  the  sleeve  signify  the  bonds  of  Christ  ;  the 
stripes  which  run  across  signify  the  blood  which 
flowed  from  Christ's  side  on  the  cross.'  Setting 
aside  the  symbolism,  we  learn  that  the  vestment 
in  the  time  of  Germanus  was  white,  ornamented 
with  stripes,  probably  red,  upon  the  sleeves  and 
across  the  body.  At  present,  while  the  vestment 
is  still  white  on  ordinary  occasions,  on  certain  days 
coloured  aroiyapia  are  worn,  as  will  be  shown  in 
the  chapter  on  Ritual  Use.  The  Xiopla,  or 
stripes,  are  now  confined  to  the  aroiyapia  of  bishops. 
In  Russia,  and  elsewhere  to  some  extent,  the 
GToiyapia  are  often  made  of  silk  or  velvet,  though 
linen  remains  the  proper  material  ;  here  we  see  a 
notable  correspondence  with  Western  usage. 

The  shapich  of  the  Armenians  and  the  cuihino 
of  the  Malabar  Christians  correspond  to  this  vest- 
ment and  do  not  differ  from  it.  It  goes  by  other 
names  in  other  parts  of  the  Eastern  Church  ;  these 
are  set  forth  in  the  appendix.  Deacons,  members 
of  the  minor  orders,  and  choristers  wear  the 
shapich  ungirded. 

II.  The  tTTi/j-aviKia.  These  correspond  to  the 
Western  maniple,  but  they  differ  from  it  in 
several  notable  respects.  First,  one  is  provided 
for  each  arm  instead  of  for  the  left  arm  only. 
Secondly,  they  are  not  worn  pendant  on  the  arm, 


Fig.  26. — Priest  in  cttolxo-Plov ,  e-mTpaxv^i-ou,  (paLVo\LOV,  idovrj,  AND 
CTTi/iaj't/cta. 


1 82  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

but  are  drawn  round,  so  that  they  rather  resemble 
cufFs  than  napkins  suspended  on  the  wrist.  In 
some  early  mosaics  they  are  shown  not  so  much  as 
cufFs,  as  large  false  sleeves.  Something  similar 
seems  to  have  been  worn  in  the  Gallican  Church, 
if  we  may  accept  the  testimony  of  the  MS.  already 
referred  to  on  p.  135. 

This  vestment — for  the  two  pieces  may  be  said 
technically  to  form  one  vestment — was  for  a  long 
time  restricted  to  bishops  only,  but  priests  and, 
since  1600,  even  deacons  have  had  the  right  to 
wear  it.  Bishops  only,  however,  are  allowed  to 
have  the  kirmaviKia  embroidered  with  the  ukwv  of 
Christ. 

The  kiTiixaviKia  are  alleged  to  signify  the  bands 
with  which  Christ  was  bound. 

The  Armenian  pasban  corresponds  to  the 
ETni^iavLKiov  ;  so  does  the  zando  of  the  Malabar 
Christians.  Both  pasban  and  zando  are  worn  one 
on  each  wrist  ;  but  whereas  the  Armenian  vestment 
is  more  like  the  Western  maniple,  the  zando  is  a 
false  sleeve,  fitting  the  arm  tightly  and  extending 
some  way  above  the  elbow. 

III.  The  imTpayriXiov  is  in  essence  identical 
with  the  stole  of  the  Western  Church,  but  in  form 
it  differs  widely.  Instead  of  being  a  long  narrow 
strip  passed  behind  the  neck,  it  is  a  short  broad 
band  with  an  aperture  at  one  end,  through  which 
the  wearer's  head  is  passed,  so  that  instead  of  two 


Fig.  27. — Archimandrite  in  ^aLv6\Lov,  i-myovdrLov,  iyKdXTnoi',  etc. 


1 84  'Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

ends  pendant,  one  at  each  side,  there  is  but  one, 
hanging  down  in  the  middle.  It  is  probably  the 
richest  of  all  the  Eastern  vestments  ;  it  is  made  of 
silk  or  brocade,  and  in  large  churches  is  orna- 
mented with  jewels  and  precious  metals.  A 
seam  runs  conspicuously  down  the  middle, 
dividing  the  band  into  two  ;  this  gives  the  vest- 
ment a  more  stole-like  appearance  than  it  would 
otherwise  possess. 

The  Armenian  foor-ourar  and  the  Malabar 
orro  are  the  equivalents  of  this  vestment,  and 
resemble  it  in  appearance.  Both  names  are 
evidently  corruptions  of  the  Greek  wpapiov. 

IV.  The  tjpdpiov  is  the  Diaconal  substitute  for 
the  ewiTpayrjXiov.  It  is  identical  with  the  Latin 
stole,  and,  like  that  vestment  when  worn  by 
deacons,  is  carried  on  the  left  shoulder.  St 
Germanus  informs  us  that  it  typifies  the  ministry 
of  angels,  in  that  it  resembles  a  pair  of  wings  ; 
this,  like  many  other  similar  statements,  may  be 
taken  for  what  it  is  worth.  The  sole  difference 
between  the  wpdpiou  and  the  stole  lies  in  its 
ornamentation  ;  the  latter  is  ornamented  in  a 
perfectly  unrestricted  manner,  the  former  bears 
embroidered  upon  it  the  rpiadyiovy 

Anoc  Anoc  Anoc, 

and    the    Armenian     Church    as    a    general    rule 
dispenses  even  with  this  inscription. 


Fig.  28. — Bishop  in  (patuoXiou,  iTn-yovaTiov,  d}/xo<p6pt.ou,  etc. 


1 86  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

V.  The  Z^vt)  is  simply  a  girdle  which  keeps  the 
cToiyapiov  and  kiTiTpayJiXiov  in  place.  To  it 
answers  the  Armenian  kodi  and  the  Malabar  zunro. 
The  Armenians  suspend  a  large  white  napkin  to 
the  kodi  on  the  left-hand  side,  which  is  used  to 
wipe  the  hands  or  the  vessels  when  necessary 
during  the  service,  and  thus  takes  the  place  of  the 
old  Western  maniple. 

VI.  The  (^iaivoXiov  answers  in  all  respects  to  the 
Western  chasuble  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  we  are 
to  see  in  its  appellation  the  old  name  paenula. 
The  Malabar  Christians  have  a  vestment  called 
the  phaino^  which  in  appearance  corresponds  to  the 
cope  ;  but  its  use  assimilates  it  to  the  (^aivoKiov^  as 
we  should  expect  from  the  identity  of  name. 
The  phaino  is  made  of  more  or  less  costly 
materials,  it  is  square  (not  semicircular)  in  shape 
with  rounded  corners.  A  button  and  loop 
ansv/er  the  purpose  of  the  Western  morse.  It 
may  be  here  stated  that  the  embroidery  and 
material  of  the  zando  usually  corresponds  with 
that  of  the  phaino  with  which  it  is  worn.  The 
priests  of  the  Armenian  Church  also  wear  a  cope- 
shaped  chasuble.  Small  bells  are  sometimes  hung 
round  the  lower  edge.  The  <^aivo\iov  of  bishops 
was  formerly  distinguished  from  that  of  priests  by 
being  covered  with  crosses  ;  hence  called  (jiaiuoXiov 
TToXvaravpiov, 

VII.  The  iTTiyovaTioif  is  a  lozenge-shaped  orna- 


The  Vestments  of  the  Eastern  Churches,    187 

ment,  made  of  brocade,  and  suspended  by  one  corner 
on  the  right  side  of  the  eirirpay^riXia  of  bishops.  It 
is  ornamented  with  embroidery  on  its  surface,  and 
with  tassels  attached  to  the  three  free  corners.  It 
was  originally  a  handkerchief,  and  it  remained  in 
this  form  for  some  considerable  time  ;  in  fact,  it 
remains  a  handkerchief  in  the  Armenian  Church. 
Although  properly  peculiar  to  bishops,  certain 
other  ecclesiastics  wear  it  as  a  special  privilege. 

VIII.  The  dj/Liocpopiov  is  equivalent  to  the 
Western  pall  (though  it  is  worn  by  all  prelates, 
not  by  archbishops  only),  and  similar  to  it  in 
shape  ;  it  is,  however,  rather  wider,  and  is  worn 
round  the  neck  in  a  knot.  It  is  said  to  symbolize 
the  lost  sheep  —  presumably  from  its  being 
carried  on  the  shoulder. 

IX.  The  indv^vaQ  is  a  vestment  similar  to  the 
cope,  worn  on  certain  occasions  by  Archimandrites 
and  the  higher  orders  of  the  Hierarchy.  The 
difference  between  it  and  the  Western  cope 
consists  in  its  being  rather  fuller,  and  fastened  at 
the  lower  ends  in  front  as  well  as  at  the  top. 
Small  bells  are  hung  round  its  lower  edge.  The 
jLiaif^vag  of  an  archimandrite  is  not  ornamented  ; 
that  of  a  prelate  is  decorated  with  wavy  stripes 
called  TTOTafjia  Ka\  irw^ara,  ' rivers  and  cups'* — a 

*  The  assonance  cannot  be  satisfactorily  preserved  in 
translation.  Perhaps  'rivers  and  lavers  *  is  the  nearest 
approximation  our  language  affords. 


1 88  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

fanciful  method  of  expressing  the  *  rivers  of  grace 
which  flow  from  him.'* 

X,    XI.    The  yai^LoXavyy]  is   a  cap,  the   k^tiyyafxa- 

\avyj)  a  hood  worn  over  it.  The  k^uyafjiaXavyji 
of  a  Metropolitan  is  white,  signed  in  front  with  a 
black  cross,  that  of  other  prelates  black. 

XII.  The  naTtpecraa  corresponds  to  the  pastoral 
staff,  but  it  is  shorter  and  is  used  as  an  ordinary 
walking-stick,  which  it  resembles  in  every 
particular.  The  handle  is  usually  an  ornamental 
modification  of  the  crutched  or  tau  cross.  The 
bishops  of  the  Eastern  Church  wear  no  ring. 

XIII.  The  eyKoXiriov  is  a  pectoral  cross,  worn  in 
the  East,  and  similar  in  all  respects  to  the  cross 
worn  in  the  West. 

XIV.  The  aa/c/coc  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Western 
dalmatic  :    it  is  now  worn  by  all  metropolitans. 

The  Armenian  vestments  which  have  not  been 
described  in  the  above  conspectus  are  (i)  the 
sagavard^  or  priest's  cap  ;  (ii)  the  vakass^  a 
vestment  which  corresponds  to  the  Western  amice, 
and  is  nowhere  else  worn  in  the  East.  It  differs 
from  it  in  the  collar  standing  upright  instead  of 
being  turned  down.  Attached  to  the  vakass  of 
high  dignitaries  is  a  breastplate  of  precious  metals 
and  stones,  bearing  the  names  of  the  twelve 
apostles.  This  is  as  obviously  borrowed  from  the 
Jewish  *  breastplate  of  the  Ephod,'  as  the  vakass 
*  Neale. 


'The  Vestments  of  the  Eastern  Churches.    189 

itself  is  borrowed  from  the  Western  amice  ;  but 
the  Armenians  deny  any  Western  influence  in  the 
dress,  asserting  the  entire  vestment  to  be  of  Jewish 
origin ;  (iii)  the  shoochar,  which  answers  in  every 
respect  to  the  cope  ;  and  (iv)  the  sandals,  which 
are  worn  during  service,  are  kept  in  the  church, 
and  may  not  be  used  on  other  occasions. 

Vartabeds  (/.^.,  priests  especially  entrusted  with 
the  work  of  preaching  and  instructing  the 
ignorant  in  the  principles  of  the  religion)  and 
bishops  substitute  a  mitre  for  the  sagavard,  and 
wear  a  pectoral  cross  hanging  by  a  gold  chain 
round  the  neck.  The  copes  of  bishops  are 
ornamented  by  two  strips  of  brocade,  usually 
embroidered  with  figures  of  saints;  these  are 
survivals  of  the  infulae  of  the  mitre,  but  are 
attached  to  the  shoulder  of  the  cope.  Vartabeds 
are  distinguished  by  a  staff  of  which  the  head 
consists  of  a  cross  with  two  serpents  turned  round  it. 

The  Armenian  Church  permits  clergy  to  remain 
married  if  the  marriage  hath  taken  place  before 
ordination.  The  ordinary  dress  of  unmarried 
priests  consists  of  a  black  or  dark  purple  cassock 
with  a  broad  belt,  over  which  is  worn  a  gown, 
and  (at  the  recital  of  the  offices)  a  cope.  In 
Persia  and  Armenia  they  wear  a  cap  with  fur 
border  called  the  kulpas.  Married  priests  wear  a 
blue  cassock,  a  black  gown,  and  a  blue  turban. 

The  vestments   of  the    Nestorian    Church    are 


190  ^ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

perhaps  the  simplest  of  the  forms  of  dress  in 
vogue  in  the  various  non-reformed  Churches. 
They  are  six  in  number,  and  are  respectively  called 
the  frazona^  peena^  zunndra^  hurrdra^  estla  or 
shorshippa^  and  msdne.  These  correspond  re- 
spectively to  breeches,  surplice,  or  alb,  girdle, 
stole,  chasuble,  and  shoes,  but  they  differ  in  some 
degree  from  the  analogous  vestments  in  use 
elsewhere.  They  are  all  made  of  white  linen  or 
calico,  the  only  colour  employed  being  in  the 
girdle  and  stole,  which  (to  use  the  convenient 
heraldic  terms)  are  cheeky  in  squares  white  and 
blue,  bearing  crosses  of  the  same  colours  counter- 
changed.  The  chasuble,  too,  has  a  Latin  cross 
worked  on  the  back.  The  latter  is  a  clumsy 
vestment,  being  simply  a  square  cloth,  thrown 
over  the  shoulders  and  held  in  position  with  the 
finger  and  thumb.  The  stole  does  not  reach 
below  the  waist,  and  is  kept  in  its  place  under  the 
girdle.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  vestments  of  the 
different  orders  of  clergy  differ  only  in  the  quality 
of  the  material,  and  not  in  elaboration  or  form  ; 
and  that  they  are,  as  a  general  rule,  only  worn 
during  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  or 
the  administration  of  Baptism.  At  other  services 
the  priests  usually  wear  their  ordinary  costume, 
which  differs  only  slightly  from  that  of  laymen. 

The    following    list   will   show  the   parallelism 
existing  between  the  vestments  of  the  East  and  of 


The  Vestments  of  the  Ka stern  Churches.     1 9 1 

the  West  ;  it  is  useful  as  showing  that  the  differ- 
ences between  them  consist  entirely  in  matters  of 
detail,  and  not  in  essentials : 

[vakass]  =  amice. 

(noi\a.piov  —  alb. 

€-n-LfiavcKia  =  maniple. 

(jOpdpLOV  J 

^<x)V7]  =  girdle. 

(jiaLVoXtov  =  chasuble. 

cTTtyovariov     may     be     compared     with     appendages     of 

subcingulum. 
(x)ixo(f)6piov  =pall. 

}j.dvBva^  =cope,  approximately. 

Xai^aXaixv^      U  mitre 
€^u)xaixa\av)(rj ) 

TraTepecrcra  =  pastoral  staff. 

iyKoX-Tiov  =  pectoral  cross. 

(TOLKKOi  =  dalmatic 

Thus,    the    eTriyovariov,    fiavcvac;,    'y^a/.iaXavyj]    and 

s^txy-^^afxaXav^v  have  no  exact  equivalent  in  the 
West  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  amice  is  only- 
represented  in  one  provincial  church,  and  the 
tunicle,  dalmatic,  gloves,  ring,  stockings  and 
sandals,  have  no  Eastern  vestments  to  correspond 
with  them.  This  is  just  what  we  might  expect, 
for  these  vestments  are  all,  comparatively  speaking, 
of  mediaeval  invention  or  application,  and  the 
Eastern  Church,  as  we  said  in  other  words  at  the 
commencement  of  this  chapter,  preserves  many  of 
the  primitive  rites  and  usages  in  a  condition  much 
less  altered  by  time  than  does  its  Western  sister. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    VESTMENTS    OF    THE     REFORMED     CHURCHES. 


ONE  of  the  main  differences  between  a 
church  unreformed  and  a  church  re- 
formed lies  in  this  :  that  in  the  former 
the  externals  of  public  worship  are  magnified  in 
importance  even  to  the  minutest  detail,  while  in 
the  latter  the  weight  attached  to  such  matters  is 
diminished  in  a  greater  or  less  degree. 

Considerable  variety  is  apparent  in  the  import- 
ance attached  by  different  reformed  churches  to 
these  matters,  and,  in  consequence,  considerable 
variety  is  apparent  in  the  extent  to  which  they  are 
elaborated.  Those  churches  which  at  the  Re- 
formation retained  the  episcopate,  retained  with  it, 
in  a  more  or  less  modified  form,  many  of  the  old 
usages  ;  while  those  churches  which  abolished  the 
hierarchical  and  restored  the  democratic  system  of 
church  government,  for  the  most  part  abolished 
the  customs  of  their  pre-reformation  predecessors. 


"The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches.    193 

Perhaps  among  no  bodies  of  Christians  are  the 
externals  of  worship  so  little  heeded  as  among  the 
English  dissenting  sects  ;  these,  being  composed  of 
seceders  from  a  reformed  church,  may  be  said  to 
have  undergone  a  double  reformation,  which  has 
had  the  effect  of  expunging  the  last  traces  of 
ritual  from  their  services.  In  the  consequent 
neglect  of  order,  the  wearing  of  robes  of  office 
has  become  entirely  optional,  not  only  with 
the  different  sects,  but  even  with  the  individual 
ministers  ;  and  where  a  gown  is  worn,  as  no 
definite  shape  of  gown  is  prescribed,  the  choice  of 
robe  remains  optional.  Hence,  these  bodies  need 
not  concern  us  further,  as  the  discussion  of  their 
vestments  would  be  merely  an  uninteresting  and 
morotonous  account  of  the  practice  of  isolated 
modern  congregations. 

The  four  churches  whose  usage  must  occupy 
our  attention  in  the  present  chapter  are  the 
Lutheran  churches  of  Germany  and  Scandinavia, 
the  Episcopal  churches  of  England  and  of  Spain, 
and  the  Presbyterian  churches,  with  especial  refer- 
ence to  the  church  of  Scotland. 

§  I.  The  Lutheran   Churches. 

Of  all  reformations,  the  least  thoroug'h,  as  far 
as  outward  observance  was  concerned,  was  the 
reformation  in  which  Martin  Luther  pl-ayed  the 
leading    part.       In    Liibeck    is  the   brass   of  the 

13 


194  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Lutheran  Bishop  Tydeman,  who  died  in  1561, 
representing  him  in  full  Eucharistic  vestments,  in 
no  wise  differing  from  the  vestments  of  his  non- 
reformed  predecessors.  At  the  present  day  the 
predominance  of  the  Evangelical  church  in  Ger- 
many (as  distinguished  from  the  Lutheran)  has 
abolished  vestments,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Geneva  gown  and  its  attendants,  among  the  Pro- 
testants ;  but  in  Sweden  and  Denmark,  where  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  is  still  the  national  church, 
the  old  vestments,  with  some  modifications  and 
omissions,  are  retained. 

The  Lutheran  minister  of  the  present  day  in 
Sweden  and  Denmark  is  described  as  wearing  an 
ample  cassock,  or  black  gown,  and  a  white  frilled 
ruff,  or  collar,  both  in  his  outdoor  life  and  at 
morning  and  evening  prayer.  At  the  Communion 
Service  he  assumes  an  alb,  or,  rather,  surplice — 
a  white,  ungirded  garment,  open  down  the  front — 
over  which  is  placed  a  chasuble  with  a  large  cross 
on  the  back. 

The  Swedish  Kyrko-Handbog  recognises  there 
vestments  :  the  chorkappa^  messhake  and  messe- 
sjorta — answering  to  the  cope,  chasuble,  and  sur- 
plice, respectively. 

\  II.  The  Anglican  Church. 

The  history  of  vestments  and  their  usage  in 
England    subsequent   to    the    reformation    is    not 


The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches,    195 

lacking  in  complexity,  and  is  rendered  harder  to 
unravel  by  the  heated  discussions  carried  on,  and 
the  contradictory  assertions  brought  forward,  at 
the  present  day  by  the  various  parties  within  the 
English  church.  It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  here 
to  give  an  account  of  the  different  recensions  of 
the  liturgy  published  and  approved  in  the  years 
after  the  reformation  ;  we  are  here  only  con- 
cerned with  the  rubrical  directions  which  they 
contain  to  regulate  the  use  of  vestments  permitted 
in  the  English  church. 

The    first    English    Prayer-Book,   published  in 
1549,  contained  the  following  injunction  : 

*  Upon  the  day  and  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Communion,  the  Priest  that  shall  execute 
the  holy  ministry  shall  put  upon  him  the  vesture  appointed 
for  that  ministration,  that  is  to  say,  a  white  alb  plain  with  a 
vestment  or  cope.  And  where  there  be  many  Priests  or 
Deacons  there  so  many  shall  be  ready  to  help  the  Priest  in 
the  ministrations  as  shall  be  requisite  ;  and  shall  have  upon 
them  likewise  the  vestures  appointed  for  their  ministry,  that 
is  to  say,  albes  with  tunicles.' 

It  is  quite  clear,  even  without  the  documentary 
evidence  which  is  forthcoming,  that  this  was 
merely  intended  as  temporary,  as,  indeed,  was 
the  whole  1549  Prayer-Book.  In  a  letter  which 
Fagius  and  Bucer  addressed  to  their  Strass- 
burg  friends,  describing  their  reception  by  Arch- 
bishop Cranmer,   there  is   given  a  short  account 


196  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

of  the  ceremonies  then  in  use.  In  the  course  of 
this  letter,  they  say,  *  We  hear  that  some  con- 
cessions have  been  made  both  to  a  respect  for 
antiquity  and  to  the  infirmity  of  the  present  age, 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  vestments  commonly 
used  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist.' 

An  inspection  of  the  rubric  will  show  that  it 
was  ingeniously  designed  to  please  all  parties. 
The  word  *  vestment,'  of  course,  means  the 
chasuble,  the  vestment  par  excellence^  and  therefore 
often  spoken  of  in  that  apparently  general  way. 
The  '  alb  and  vestment  '  being  specified  did  not 
necessarily  exclude  all  the  other  vestments  which 
were  worn  between  these  two.  Hence  those  clergy 
who  preferred  the  old  rites  and  ceremonies  might 
read  the  rubric  into  permitting,  or  even  enjoining, 
the  maintenance  of  the  old  vestments,*  while  those 
who  subscribed  to  the  principles  of  the  reforming 
party  might  set  at  defiance  all  old  usages  by  wear- 
ing the  cope  while  celebrating  the  Communion. 

Another  rubric  relating  to  vestments  appears  in 
the  first  Prayer-Book.  This  is  the  first  rubric 
printed  after  the  order  for  the  Communion,  and 
runs  thus : 

*  Upon  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  the  English  Litany  shall 
be  said  or  sung  in  all  places  .  .  .  and  though  there  be  none 
to  communicate  with   the    Priest,  yet  these  days  (after  the 

*  With  one  modification  only.  The  albs  are  expressly 
ordered  to  be  worn  plain. 


The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches,    197 

Litany  ended)  the  Priest  shall  put  upon  him  a  plain  albc 
or  surplice,  with  a  cope,  and  say  all  things  at  the  altar 
(appointed  to  be  said  at  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper) 
until  after  the  offertory.   .  .   .' 

Finally,   in   this    Prayer-Book    also   occurs  the 
following  : 

'In  the  saying  or  singing  of  Mattins  and  Evensong, 
baptizing  and  burying,  the  minister  in  parish  churches  and 
chapels  annexed  to  the  same  shall  use  a  surplice.  And  in 
all  cathedral  churches  and  colleges  the  archdeacons,  deans, 
provosts,  masters,  prebendaries,  and  fellows,  being  graduates, 
may  use  in  the  quire,  besides  their  surplices,  such  hood  as 
appertaineth  to  their  several  degrees.  And  whensoever  the 
bishop  shall  celebrate  the  Holy  Communion  in  the  church,  or 
execute  any  other  public  ministration,  he  shall  have  upon 
him,  beside  his  rochet,  a  surplice  or  albe,  and  a  cope  or 
vestment,  and  also  his  pastoral  stafF  in  his  hand,  or  else  borne 
or  holden  by  his  chaplain.' 

The  revised  Prayer-Book  of  1552  is  much  more 
strino-ent  in  its  reformation  of  vestment-use.  It 
condescends  to  mention  vestments  but  once,  in  a 
prohibitory  rubric,  which  reduces  vestment-use 
in  the  English  Church  to  an  almost  Presbyterian 
simplicity.      This  rubric  is  as  follows  : 

*  And  here  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  minister  at  the  time 
of  the  communion,  and  at  all  other  times  in  his  ministration, 
shall  use  neither  albe,  vestment,  nor  cope  :  but  being  arch- 
bishop or  bishop,  he  shall  have  and  wear  a  rochet:  and  being 
a  priest  or  deacon,  he  shall  have  and  wear  a  surplice  only. 

In  the  Prayer-Book  of  1559  a  rubric  is  to  be 
found  requiring  the  restoration  of  the  vestments 


igS  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

and  ornaments  of  the  first  Prayer-Book,  thereby- 
setting  aside  the  order  of  the  second  Prayer-Book. 
At  the  consecration  of  Archbishop  Parker  in  1559, 
we  are  told  that  at  morning  prayer  the  archbishop- 
elect  wore  his  academical  robes.  After  the  sermon, 
the  archbishop-elect  and  the  four  attendant  bishops 
proceeded  to  the  vestry,  and  returned  prepared  for 
the  communion  service,  the  archbishop  in  a  linen 
surplice,  the  Bishop  of  Chichester  in  a  silk  cope, 
the  Bishops  of  Hereford  and  Bedford  in  linen 
surplices,  but  the  Bishop  of  Exeter  (Miles  Cover- 
dale)  in  a  woollen  cassock  only.  Two  chaplains 
of  the  archbishop,  who  assisted  the  Bishop  of 
Chichester  at  the  communion  service,  also  wore 
silk  copes. 

After  the  communion  service  they  again  pro- 
ceeded to  the  vestry  and  returned,  the  archbishop 
in  '  episcopal  alb,'  surplice,  chimere  of  black  silk, 
and  a  collar  of  precious  sable-fur  round  his 
neck  ;  the  Bishops  of  Chichester  and  Hereford 
in  episcopalia,  namely,  surplice  and  chimere. 
Coverdale  and  the  Bishop  of  Bedford  wore  cas- 
socks only. 

This  passage  shows  us  that  the  right  of  private 
judgment  was  exercised,  even  at  such  an  important 
ceremony  as  the  consecration  of  an  archbishop,  in 
1559  as  now.  The  Puritan  principles  of  Cover- 
dale  were  given  full  sway  even  when  acting  in  co- 
operation with  his  less  austere  brethren. 


The  Vestments  of  the  Ke formed  Churches,    199 

It  also  introduces  us  to  a  new  vestment,  the 
chimere,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  puzzles  to  be 
found  in  the  subject  of  vestments.  Since  the 
Reformation,  it  has  continued  ever  since  as  a  dress 
peculiar  to  bishops,  but  its  origin  and  the  exact 
date  of  its  introduction  are  uncertain. 

The  chimere  is  a  short  coat,  properly  without 
sleeves  ;  but  in  England  the  tailors  of  the  Stuart 
period  transferred  the  sleeves  of  the  rochet  to  the 
chimere.  Hence  the  modern  English  bishops  wear 
sleeveless  rochets  and  sleeved  chimeres — both  sole- 
cisms. The  English  chimere  is  black,  though 
from  the  reign  of  Edward  VI  to  that  of  Elizabeth 
it  was  scarlet  ;  but  the  form  current  on  the  Conti- 
nent, a  large  cape  called  the  mantelletmn,  is  scarlet, 
and  the  chimere  worn  by  the  Roman  prelates  in 
England  is  purple. 

It  is  not  unlikely,  from  the  appearance  of  the 
vestment,  that  it  is  a  modification  of  the  cope 
or  almuce — possibly  a  combination  of  the  two 
vestments. 

In  1560  Thos  Sampson  writes  complaining  to 
Peter  Martyr  that  '  three  of  our  lately-appointed 
bishops  are  to  officiate  at  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
one  as  priest,  another  as  deacon,  and  a  third  as 
subdeacon,  before  the  image  of  the  crucifix,  or  at 
least  not  far  from  it,  with  candles,  and  habited  in 
the  golden  vestments  of  the  papacy.'  This  seems 
to  indicate  that  at  Court  (where  this  was  to  take 


200  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

place)  the  old  vestments  were  kept  up.  From  a 
letter  of  Miles  Coverdale's  written  in  1566,  we 
learn  that  the  square  cap,  bands,  and  tippet  were 
enjoined  to  be  worn  out  of  doors  (*  Zurich 
Letters,'  vol.  i,  p.  6^,  vol.  ii,  p.  121  ;  Parker 
Society). 

In  all  the  subsequent  Prayer-Books,  the  '  Orna- 
ments Rubric,'  as  it  is  called,  is  the  source  of  our 
information  with  respect  to  the  vestments  re- 
quired to  be  worn  in  the  English  Church.  This 
famous  rubric  runs  thus  (as  given  in  the  Prayer- 
Book  of  1662)  : 

*  And  here  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  such  ornaments  of  the 
church  and  of  the  ministers  thereof,  at  all  times  of  their 
ministration,  shall  be  retained  and  be  in  use,  as  were  in  this 
Church  of  England,  by  the  authority  of  Parliament,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  Sixth.' 

The  indefiniteness  observed  in  the  Edwardian 
rubrics,  to  which  this  injunction  refers,  invests  the 
'  Ornaments  Rubric '  with  a  certain  vagueness  ; 
and  this  is  responsible  for  the  long  and  violent 
strife  that  has  waged  around  it,  and  for  the  chaotic 
condition  of  modern  Anglican  order,  both  in 
vestments  and  other  observances. 

Recent  attempts  have  been  made  on  the  part  of 
individual  clergymen  to  introduce  certain  details 
of  the  ritual  of  the  Western  Church  into  the 
services  of  the  Church  of  England.  All  such 
innovations    are,    however,    regarded    as    illegal, 


The  Vest?nents  of  the  Reformed  Churches.    201 

and  clergymen  attempting  to  introduce  them  lay 
themselves  open  to  prosecution.  The  rulings 
in  the  case  known  as  the  Folkestone  ritual 
case  (Elphinstone  v.  Purchas)  is  the  standard  of 
reference  in  such  matters.  Among  many  other 
details,  the  use  of  the  following  vestments  was 
declared  absolutely  contrary  to  the  Ecclesiastical 
Law  of  England  :  The  biretta,  chasuble,  alb,  and 
tunicle  at  the  Holy  Communion  ;  the  cope  at 
Holy  Communion  except  on  high  feast  days  in 
cathedrals  and  collegiate  churches.  On  other 
occasions  a  decent  and  comely  surplice  is  to  be 
used  by  every  minister  saying  the  public  prayers 
or  administering  the  sacrament  or  other  rites  of 
the  Church.* 

This  tendency  to  elaboration  and  to  revival  of 
mediaeval  practices  is  not,  however,  altogether  of 
modern  growth.  In  Wells  Cathedral  is  the  effigy 
of  Bishop  Creighton,  who  died  in  1672,  clad  in 
cassock,  amice,  alb,  and  cope,  the  latter  with  a 
jewelled  border.  On  his  head  is  a  cap  with  side- 
flaps,  over  which  is  ^imitrapretiosa.  More  singular 
still,  considering  that  the  person  commemorated 
was  an  ardent  reformer,  is  the  brass  of  Bishop 
Goodrick   at  Ely  Cathedral,  who  died  in    1554. 

*  For  a  complete  analysis  of  the  '  Ornaments  Rubric  '  with 
elaborate  historical  and  legal  disquisitions,  reference  should  be 
made  to  the  published  report  of  the  Folkestone  case  (Kegan 
Paul,  1878). 


202  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

He  is  represented  in  full  Eucharistic  vestments  of 
the  pre-Reformation  period.  Both  these  apparent 
anomalies  are  probably  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
Romanizing  tendency  of  the  reigning  monarchs 
under  whom  both  these  persons  lived. 

The  vestments  of  the  clergy  did  not  escape  the 
lash  of  the  satirists  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign. 
About  1565,  for  instance,  a  tract  was  published 
entitled  '  A  pleasant  Dialogue  between  a  Soldier  of 
Berwick  and  an  English  chaplain :  wherein  are 
largely  handled  and  laid  open  such  reasons  as  are 
brought  for  maintenance  of  Popish  Traditions  in 
our  English  Church.'  The  soldier  speaks  thus  to 
Bernard,  the  priest  :  '  But,  Bernard,  I  pray  thee, 
tell  me  of  thine  honesty  what  was  the  cause  that 
thou  hast  been  in  so  many  changes  of  apparel 
this  forenoon,  now  black,  now  white,  now  in  silk 
and  gold,  and  now  at  length  in  this  swouping 
black  gown,  and  this  sarcenet  flaunting  tippet.' 
This  describes  Bernard  as  first  in  his  ordinary 
cassock  or  clerical  dress  ;  then  in  his  surplice  for 
morning  prayer ;  then  in  the  cope  for  communion  ; 
and,  lastly,  in  the  preaching  gown  and  tippet. 
The  passage  is  interesting,  as  it  brings  the  practice 
of  wearing  a  black  gown  at  the  sermon,  once  uni- 
versal in  the  English  Church,  but  now  fast  dying 
out,  back  almost  to  the  reformation. 

One  more  English  church  vestment  remains  to 
be  noticed — the  scarf     This  is  a  broad  black  band 


The  Vestments  of  the  Rejormed  Churches.    203 

of  silk,  which  is  worn  like  a  stole,  passed  round 
the  back  of  the  neck  and  allowed  to  depend  on 
either  side.  It  is  worn  by  doctors  of  divinity 
and  by  the  clerical  authorities  of  collegiate  and 
cathedral  bodies.  Its  origin  is  possibly  to  be  found 
in  the  stole,  but  it  is  more  probably  a  modification 
of  an  article  of  University  costume. 

During  the  imposition  of  Episcopacv  upon 
Scotland  in  the  Stuart  period  the  dress  of  the 
clergy  was  of  a  form  designed  by  no  less  a  person 
than  his  Sacred  Majesty  King  James  I  himself 
At  that  monarch's  own  request  the  Parliament  of 
1609  passed  an  Act  authorizing  him  to  do  so, 
assigning  in  its  preface  the  reasons  for  this  step  to 
be  '  that  it  had  been  found  by  daily  experience 
that  the  greatness  of  his  Majesty's  empire,  the 
magnificence  of  his  Court,  the  fame  of  his  wisdom, 
the  civility  of  his  subjects,  were  alluring  princes 
and  strangers  from  every  part  of  the  world,  and 
that  it  was  fitting  that  bishops  and  ministers, 
judges  and  magistrates,  should  appear  before  those 
in  becoming  apparel  ;  it  was  therefore  referred  to 
his  Majesty's  serene  wisdom  to  devise  appropriate 
garments  and  robes  of  office  for  these  different 
functionaries.' 

The  result  of  this  was  an  order  '  that  ministers 
should  wear  black  clothes  and  in  the  pulpit  black 
gowns  ;  that  bishops  and  doctors  of  divinity 
should  wear  "  black  cassikins  syde  to  their  knee  " 


204  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

[equivalent  to  the  "  bishop's  apron  "  of  the  modern 
English  prelate  and  the  short  Presbyterian  cassock], 
black  gowns  above,  and  a  black  craip  [scarf]  about 
their  necks.  The  bishops  were  ordained  to  have 
their  gowns  with  lumhard  sleeves,  according  to  the 
form  of  England,  with  tippets  and  craips  about 
their  craigs  [necks]/ 

In  1 63 1  Charles  I  directed  the  surplice  to  be 
worn.  In  1633,  when  he  visited  Scotland,  the 
bishops  and  chaplains  officiated  before  him  in 
surplices.  He  induced  Parliament  to  pass  an  Act 
like  that  of  1609,  giving  him  the  power  to  regu- 
late clerical  costume  ;  but  this  was  so  much 
objected  to  by  the  clergy  themselves  (some  of 
whom  expressed  a  fear  that  his  Majesty  would 
order  them  to  wear  '  hoods  and  bells '),  that  in 
1634  they  petitioned  the  King  not  to  interfere 
with  the  arrangements  of  his  predecessor  ;  and 
their  request  seems  to  have  been  granted. 

§  III.   The   Reformed  Churches  of  Spain 
AND  Portugal. 

The  practices  of  both  these  churches  are  com- 
mendably  simple  :  a  white  tunic,  or  surplice,  and 
a  white  stole,  are  the  only  vestments  or  ornaments 
at  any  time  to  be  worn,  except  in  sermons  or  at 
funerals,  when  a  black  gown  may  be  assumed. 
Deacons  wear  their  stoles  in  the  ancient  diaconal 


The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches,   205 

fashion,  i.e.,  over  the  left  shoulder  and  under  the 
right  arm  ;  presbyters  wear  theirs  round  the  neck 
and  hanging  straight  down. 

§  IV.  The  Presbyterian  Church. 
We  have  already  shown  that  in  Apostolic  times, 
and    the     first    few    years    of  the    post-Apostolic 


Fig.  29.-A  Synod  Meeting  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France. 

period,    robes    of   office    were    not    worn    by    the 
officiating   minister.      Vestments  do  not  meet  us 
until    the     moderatorship     of    the    Ecclesiastical 
Assemblies  had  crystallized  into  the  Episcopate. 
The  oldest  Christian  organization  now  existing 


2o6  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

in  which  the  diordinal  system  of  government  has 
been  restored  is  undoubtedly  the  Waldensian 
church.  Although  this  church  has  not  been 
proved  to  be  older  than  the  thirteenth  century,  it 
cannot  be  asserted  that  its  foundation  is  not 
anterior  to  that  date  ;  an  impenetrable  mist — 
rendered  more  obscure,  it  must  be  admitted,  by 
the  doubtful  authenticity  of  many  of  the  church 
documents — shrouds  its  early  years.  Unfortunately 
it  cannot  be  discovered  whether  its  clergy  wore 
any  distinctive  robes  when  conducting  its  services. 
The  chroniclers  have  not  thought  it  worth  their 
while  to  tell  us,  but  it  is  improbable  that  anything 
very  elaborate  was  worn,  as  a  church  which  made 
a  change  so  drastic  as  the  abolition  of  the  Episco- 
pate would  be  unlikely  to  maintain  the  elaborate 
accessories  of  the  non-reformed  church.  At  present 
the  simple  black  gown  is  worn,  as  in  all  other 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  church  throughout 
the  world. 

The  task  of  compiling  details  regarding  the 
vestments  of  the  Presbyterian  church  is  rendered 
easy  by  the  small  account  which  that  church,  in 
all  its  sections,  takes  of  ritual  matters  ;  but  the 
same  cause  also  increases  its  difficulty  in  another 
direction.  Paradoxical  as  this  statement  may 
appear,  it  becomes  intelligible  when  we  reflect  that 
but  few  Presbyterian  assemblies  would  consider  it 
consistent  with  their  dignity  to  take  any  notice  of 


The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches,    207 

matters  of  dress,  personal  or  official  ;  while  on  the 
other  hand  few  Presbyterian  writers  have  thought 
such  matters  worthy  of  their  notice.  The  writer 
has  referred  to  liturgies  in  the  English,  French, 
German,  Roumanian,  and  other  languages,  repre- 
senting the  chief  reformed  Churches  of  Europe 
holding  the  Presbyterian  system,  but  has  failed  to 
find  any  rubrical  direction  or  reference  containing 
any  information.  The  collecting  of  material  is 
thus  simplified  by  the  small  amount  of  material 
actually  available,  but  rendered  difficult  by  the 
baldness  of  the  records  in  which  the  materials  have 
to  be  sought. 

The  vestments  worn  by  clergy  of  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  are  not  so  much  ecclesiastical  as 
professional  or  academical,  like  the  barrister's 
gown.  They  are  at  most  four  in  number  :  the 
cassock,  scarf,  bands,  and  gown,  to  which  the  hood 
of  the  wearer's  degree  is  added. 

The  cassock  is  a  somewhat  ugly  garment  of 
black  silk,  which  resembles  an  ordinary  short  coat  ; 
it  rarely  reaches  as  far  as  the  knees.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  is  a  modification,  for  conveni- 
ence' sake,  of  the  long  cassock  worn  by  clergy  of 
the  Episcopal  Churches,  which  was  the  inner  gar- 
ment, university  and  clerical,  of  the  middle  ages. 
The  scarf  is  a  long  strip  of  black  cloth,  wound 
sash-wise  round  the  waist  and  knotted  in  front. 
The  bands  are  two  short  pendant  tails  of  white 


2o8  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

lawn,  hanging  in  front,  now  fastened  round  the 
neck  by  an  elastic  cord.  These  survive  in  the 
universities  as  well  as  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  name  was  originally  applied  to  the  Eliza- 
bethan ruff,  in  which  must  be  sought  the  proto- 
type of  the  ecclesiastical  bands  ;  and  the  use  of  a 
cylindrical  box  to  keep  the  ruff  in  has  caused  the 
survival  of  the  old  meaning  of  the  word  in  *  band- 
box.' The  stiff  starched  of  propped  band  passed 
at  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century 
into  xhQ  falling  band  (not  unlike  a  modern  child's 
lace  collar),  of  which  the  ecclesiastical  *  bands '  is 
the  diminution. 

The  gown  is  of  the  pattern  known  as  the 
Geneva  gown — a  black  silk  gown  with  ample 
sleeves  and  faced  with  velvet. 

It  should  be  here  remarked  that  there  is  con- 
siderable laxity  in  individual  usage.  The  cassock 
and  scarf  are  almost  universally  discarded,  and,  in 
fact,  they  were  probably  never  very  generally  worn. 
For  the  Geneva  gown  is  often  substituted  the 
gown  proper  to  the  university  degree  of  the  wearer. 

Very  few  regulations  affecting  robes  have  been 
passed  by  any  of  the  assemblies  of  the  churches  in 
the  Presbyterian  Alliance.  The  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1575  passed  an  im- 
portant injunction,  which,  however,  refers  rather 
to  personal  than  to  official  attire.  As  it  is  a 
curious  document,  we  give  it  here  in  full  : 


"The  Vestments  of  the  Reformed  Churches.  209 

'For  as  muche  as  a  comelie  and  decent  apparrell  is 
requisite  in  all,  namelie,  ministers,  and  suche  as  beare 
functioun  in  the  kirk,  first,  we  thinke  all  kinde  of  browdering 
[broidering]  unseemlie  ;  all  begaires  [coloured  stripes]  of 
velvet,  in  gowne,  hose,  or  coat,  and  all  superfluous  and 
vaine  cutting  out,  steeking  [stitching]  with  silkes,  all  kinde 
of  costlie  sewing  on  pasments  [laces],  or  sumptuous  and  large 
steeking  with  silkes  ;  all  kinde  of  costlie  sewing  or  variant 
hewes  in  sarkes  ;  all  kinde  of  light  and  variant  hewes  in 
clothing,  as  reid,  blew,  yellow,  and  suche  like,  which  declare 
the  lightnesse  of  the  minde  ;  all  wearing  of  rings,  bracelets, 
buttons  of  silver,  gold,  or  other  mettall  ;  all  kinds  of  super- 
fluiteis  of  cloath  in  making  of  hose  ;  all  using  of  plaids  in  the 
kirk  by  readers  or  ministers,  namelie,  in  the  time  of  their 
ministrie  and  using  their  office  ;  all  kinde  of  gownning, 
cutting,  doubletting,  or  breekes  of  velvet,  satine,  taffatie  or 
suche  like  ;  and  costlie  giltings  of  whingers  and  knives,  and 
suche  like  ;  all  silk  hatts,  and  hatts  of  diverse  and  light  colours ; 
but  that  their  whole  habite  be  of  grave  colour,  as  blacke, 
russett,  sad  gray,  sad  browne  ;  or  searges,  worsett,  cham- 
lett,  grogram,  lylis,  worset,  or  suche  like;  that  the  good 
Word  oi  God,  by  them  and  their  immoderatenesse,  be  not 
slandered."*' 

There  is  one  rule,  or  rather  unwritten  conven- 
tion, affecting  the  wearing  of  vestments  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  at  least,  in  the  British  Islands. 
The  bands  are  regarded  as  an  indication  that  their 
wearer  is  the  minister  of  a  recognised  congrega- 
tion ;  hence,  when  an  ordained  minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  who  does  not  hoJd  such  an 

"^  Calderwood,  'Historic  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  '  (Wodrow 
Society),  vol.  iii,  p.  354. 

14 


2IO  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

office  happens  to  be  conducting  a  service,  he  does 
not  wear  bands. 

The  Geneva  gown  has  not  always  been  worn  in 
the  Presbyterian  Churches  abroad.  Thus  in  the 
Church  of  Holland,  till  recently,  the  official  costume 
of  a  minister  was  a  picturesque  uniform,  consisting 
of  the  old  three-cornered  hat,  and  a  coat  resem- 
bling the  ordinary  evening-dress  coat,  having  a 
long  pleated  strip  called  the  *  mantle '  hooked  on 
the  neck,  obviously  a  survival  from  an  earlier  and 
more  ample  gown  of  some  kind,  knee-breeches, 
buckled  at  the  knees,  and  buckled  shoes.  This 
costume  was  worn  only  when  the  minister  was 
officiating  at  service.  It  has  nov/,  however,  been 
universally  abandoned  for  the  Geneva  gown. 

The  gown  and  bands,  with  or  without  the 
cassock  and  scarf,  are  now  worn  only  at  Divine 
Service  ;  but  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  (in  Britain  as  on  the  Continent)  they  were 
worn  by  ministers  sitting  in  assembly  as  well,  in 
accordance  with  the  decree  of  the  Synod  of  Fife, 
which  in  i6it  ordained  that  ministers  should 
attend  meetings  in  the  exercise  of  Synodal  assembly 
in  black  gowns  and  other  abul^iements*  prescribed 
in  the  Act  of  Parliament. 

The  elders  never  wear  any  insignia  of  office,  and 
never  have  done  so. 

■^  Habiliments. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE    RITUAL     USES    OF    VESTMENTS. 


WE  have  now  described  the  form  and 
ornamentation  of  the  different  vest- 
ments worn  by  the  clergy  of  the 
principal  sections  of  Christendom  ;  but  we  have 
only  Incidentally  touched  upon  another  and  equally 
important  matter,  namely,  when  and  how  these 
vestments  were  worn,  and  the  liturgical  practices 
connected  with  them.  A  more  extended  account 
of  these  matters  will  be  the  subject  of  the  present 
chapter. 

The  non -reformed  Western  and  Eastern 
Churches  alone  need  occupy  our  attention.  The 
vestment  uses  of  the  various  reformed  churches 
are  practically  nil^  and  all  available  details  concern- 
ing these  Churches  have  already  been  given  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

Vestments  were  obtained  by  a  church  or  a 
cathedral  in  many  ways.  They  were  often  em- 
broidered for  presentation  to  the  church  by  ladles, 


212  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

who  found  in  the  work  of  embroidery  an  easy  and 
pleasant  way  of  passing  the  time  ;  or  else  by  the 
inmates  of  nunneries  as  a  religious  work.  Some 
were  presented  as  expiatory  offerings  by  conscience- 
stricken  laymen  ;  others  bequeathed  as  a  perpetual 
memorial  by  incumbents  or  prelates.  Others, 
again,  were  purchased  with  money  mulcted  as 
compensation  for  sins. 

The  first  sacred  function  in  which  any  vestment 
took  part  was  its  own  benediction.  This  was 
always  spoken  by  a  bishop,  and  was  in  form  of 
prayers  said  over  all  the  vestments  of  a  suit 
together,  and  the  individual  vestments  separately. 
The  following  may  be  taken  as  specimens  of  these 
dedicatory  prayers  ;  it  is  unnecessary  to  occupy 
space  in  giving  all,  as  complete  sets  can  be  found 
in  any  Pontifical : 

Benedictio  07?iniu7?i  vestit?ientorum  simul. — Omnlpotens  Deus 
qui  per  Moisen  famulum  tuum  pontificalia  et  sacerdotalia  ac 
levitica  vestimenta  ad  explendum  ministerium  eorum  in  con- 
spectu  tuo,  et  ad  decorem  tui  nominis,  per  nostra  humilitatis 
servitutem  pontificare  ►J*  benedicere  ►f*  consccrare  digneris 
►f<  ut  divinis  cultibus  et  sacris  misteriis  apta  et  benedicta 
existant  ;  hiisque  sacris  vestibus  pontifices,  sacerdotes  seu 
levite  tui  induti  ab  omnibus  impulsionibus  seu  temptacionibus 
malignorum  spirituum  muniti  et  defensi  esse  mereantur, 
tuisque  ministeriis  apte  et  condigne  servire  et  inherere,  atque 
in  hiis  placide  tibi  et  devote  perseverare  tribue.  Per  Chris- 
tum.    Oremus. 

Deus  invicte  virtutis  auctor,  et  omnium  rerum  creator  ac 
sanctificator,  intende  propicius  ad  preces  nostras,  et  hec  indu- 


The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.        2 1  3 

menta  levitice  et  sacerdotalis  glorie  ministris  tuis  sumenda  tuo 
ore  proprio  benedicere  i^  sanctificare  ►J^  et  consecrare  dig- 
nerls  omnesque  eis  utentes,  tuis  misteriis  aptos,  et  tibi  in  eis 
devote  et  amicabiliter  servientes  grates  effici  concedas.  Per 
Christum  Dominum. 

Bejiedictio  Amicti. — Oremus.  Benedic  Domine  quesume 
omnipotens  Deus  amictum  istum  levitici  seu  sacerdotalis 
officii  et  concede  propicius  ut  quicumque  eum  capiti  suo  im- 
posuerit  benedictionem  tuam  accipiat  ;  sitque  in  fide  solidus 
et  sanctitatis  gravedine  fundatus.      Per  Christum.      Etc. 

The  vestment  thus  dedicated  was  sprinkled  with 
holy  water  after  each  prayer. 

The  ritual  uses  of  vestments  may  be  con- 
veniently described  in  two  parts  ;  discussing  in 
the  first  the  persons  by  whom  they  were  worn, 
and,  in  the  second,  the  occasions  upon  which,  and 
the  manner  in  w^hich,  they  were  worn. 

The  vestments  were  distributed  among  the 
different  orders  of  clergy  in  a  manner  similar  to 
that  in  which  the  early  vestments  of  the  second 
period  were  allotted  (see  p.  28),  but  on  a  more 
complex  system,  as  befitted  their  greater  elabora- 
tion. Some  hints  of  this  system  have  already  been 
given  in  the  preceding  pages  ;  it  will  be  convenient 
here  to  amplify  this  information. 

The  seven  orders  of  the  Western  Church  are 
the  three  minor  orders  [ostiarius^  lector^  acolytus)^ 
and  the  four  major  orders  (subdeacons,  deacons, 
priests,  and  bishops  ;  we  may  divide  the  last  into 
three    subdivisions,  ^bishops    proper,    archbishops, 


214  'Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

and  the  Pope).  All  ranks  wore  the  alb^  and  all 
the  major  orders  the  maniple.  .  All  those  above 
the  rank  of  subdeacon  wore  amice  and  stole^  and  all 
above  the  rank  of  deacon  the  chasuble.  Subdeacons 
were  distinguished  by  the  tunicle^  deacons  by  the 
dalmatic  ;  both  vestments  were  added  to  the  outfit 
of  bishops,  the  latter  with  a  remarkable  distinction 
already  described  (p.  79).  Tho.  stockings^  sandals^ 
suhcingulum  (originally),  mitre,  gloves,  ring,  and 
staff  WQvt  peculiar  to  bishops  and  to  certain  abbots 
to  whom  these  pontificalia  had  been  expressly 
granted  by  the  Pope.^  Archbishops  added  the 
pall  to  this  lengthy  catalogue,  and  the  Pope  (who 
dispensed  with  the  pastoral  staff)  reserved  the 
orale,  and  in  later  times  the  suhcingulum,  for  his 
exclusive  use. 

We  now  turn  to  the  consideration  of  the  occa- 
sions upon  which,  and  the  manner  in  which,  these 
vestments  were  worn. 

The  vestments  worn  at  the  mass  by  the  cele- 
brant and  his  assistants  were  those  which  we  have 
described  under  the  heading  of  '  Eucharistic  Vest- 
ments,' and  of  these  one,  the  chasuble,  was  worn 
exclusively  at  this  service  and  at  no  other. 

In  Advent,  and  between  Septuagesima  and 
Easter,  the  deacons  and  subdeacons  were  directed 

*  When  the  abbot  of  a  monastery  was  also  a  bishop,  the 
prior  had  also  the  right  to  wear  pontifcalia  when  his  superior 
was  absent. 


'The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments,         215 

to  substitute  chasubles  for  their  dalmatics  or 
tunicles  ;  and  these  chasubles  were  ordered  to  be 
worn,  not  in  the  usual  manner,  but  folded,  and 
passed  across  the  breast  like  the  diaconal  stole. 
That  is  to  say,  the  chasuble,  which  must  have 
been  of  a  flexible''''  material,  was  folded  into  a  strip 
as  narrow  as  possible,  and  secured  over  the  shoulder 
and  under  the  girdle  of  the  alb.  These  were  not 
to  be  worn  during  the  whole  service,  however  ; 
the  subdeacon  had  to  remove  his  folded  chasuble 
at  the  Epistle  ;  at  the  Gospel  the  deacon  had  to 
cross  his  over  the  left  arm,  and  so  keep  it  till  after 
the  post-communion. 

There  is  but  one  representation  of  a  deacon  so 
vested  known  to  exist  in  England.  It  is  one  of  a 
series  of  sculptured  effigies  of  ecclesiastics  on  the 
north-west  tower  of  Wells  Cathedral.  These 
have  been  described  by  Mr  St  John  Hope  in 
'  Archasologia,'  vol.  liv.  We  give  here  the  figure 
to  which  special  reference  is  at  present  being  made. 
Besides  the  chasuble,  the  effigy  is  vested  in  cassock, 
amice,  alb,  and  girdle  ;  and  a  book,  probably 
meant  for  the  Gospels,  is  represented  as  carried  in 
the  hand. 

It   should  be  observed   that  at   the  mass  of  a 

*  The  difficulty  oi  folding  the  chasuble  without  injuring 
it  has  led  to  the  substitution  of  a  broad  purple  stole-like  vest- 
ment, worn  exactly  like  the  folded  chasuble.  This  is  called 
the  St  ohm. 


2l6 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


feast  falling  within  the  limits  of  time  prescribed, 
the  ordinary  dalmatic  and  tunicle  were  worn  in 
the  ordinary  way. 


Fig.  30. — Deacon  in  Folded  Chasuble,  Wells  Cathedral. 


This    peculiar    custom    was    unknown    to    the 
Franciscans.      The  deacons  of  this   order  put  o.T 


The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments,        217 


the  dalmatic  entirely  upon  fast-days,  and  did  not 
substitute  any  other  vestment  for  it  ;  a  similar 
practice,  with  respect  to  the  tunicle,  was  observed 
by  the  subdeacons,  so  that  the  deacons  wore  alh 
and  stole  only,  the  subdeacons  alb  and  maniple. 
This  practice  was  not  observed  at  the  Vigils  of 
Saints,   or   of  the   Nativity,   and  on  a  few  other 

occasions. 

When  a  cleric  of  sacerdotal  rank  'ministered  (as 
opposed  to  celebrated)  at  the  mass,  his  dress  was 
the  amice,  the  alb,  the  stole,  and  the  cope.  The 
same  vestments  are  worn  by  the  priest  at  the  mass 
of  the  pre-sanctified*  on  Good  Friday. 

Before  the  vestments  are  put  on  for  the  mass 
the  priest  must  wash  his  hands,  and  prepare  the 
chalice,  placing  over  it  the  purificator  or  napkin 
used  for  wiping    the   sacred   vessels.     Above  the 
purificator  he  places  the  paten,  with  an  unbroken 
host,  and  covers  it  with  a  small  linen  cloth,  over 
which  he  puts  the  burse.     This  done,  he  takes 
the  vestments   one   by  one  ;  he  first  receives^  the 
amice,  takes  it  by  its  ends  and  strings,  and  kisses 
the  middle  of  it  where  there  is  a  cross.     A  prelate, 
it   should  be   noticed,    always   puts  on  a  surplice 
before  vesting.     The  amice  being  put  in  its  place, 
the    alb  and    girdle   are    then   assumed,  then   the 
maniple  and   chasuble.     Each  vestment  is  kissed 
*  The  Sacrament  when  used  on  a  day  when  the  Eucharist 
service  is  not  gone  through  in  its  enurety. 


21 8  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

before  being  put  on,  and  a  prayer  said  with  the 
assumption  of  each  ;  these  prayers  differ  little  in 
style  from  those  said  in  the  similar  ceremony  in 
the  Eastern  Church,  and  it  has  therefore  been 
thought  unnecessary  to  give  them  here. 

In  an  inventory  of,  the  Vestry  of  Westminster 
Abbey,*  the  following  directions  are  given  in  a  late 
fifteenth-century  hand  : 

The  Revestpg  of  the  abbot  of  Westnf  att  evensong. — fFyrst 
the  westerer  shall  lay  the  abbots  cope  lowest  opon  the  awter 
vv'^  in  the  sayd  westre,  nex  opon  hys  gray  Ames,  then  hys 
surples,  after  that  hys  Rochett  and  uppermost  his  Kerchure. 

Hys  Myter  &  crose  beyng  Redy  w^  hys  glovys  and  ponty- 
fycalls. 

The  Revesting  of  the  sayd  abbot  att  syngyng  hy  Masse. — 
Fyrst  the  westerer  shall  lay  lowest  the  chesebell.  a  bove  that 
the  dalmatyke  and  the  dalmatyk  w'  y^  longest  slevys  upper- 
most &  the  other  nethermost  then  hys  stole  &  hys  fanane 
and  hys  gyrdyll,  opon  that  his  albe  theropon  his  gray  Ames  a 
bove  that  hys  Rochett  and  uppermost  hys  kerchur  w'  a  vestry 
gyrdyll  to  tukk  up  his  cole. 

Hys  Miter  Sc  crose  beyng  Redy  w"^  hys  glovys  and  ponty- 
fycalls  And  a  fore  all  thys  you  muste  se  that  hys  sabatyns  & 
syndalls  be  Redy  at  hys  first  cuyng  whan  he  settyth  hym 
downe  in  the  travys. 

This  direction  is  important  in  one  respect.  It 
shows  us  the  order  in  which  the  vestments  were 
put  on,  it  is  true ;  that,  however,  one  would 
naturally  infer  from  the  order  in  which  they  are 

*  Edited  by  Dr  Wickham  Legg  in  '  Archaeologia,'  vol.  lii., 
p.  195. 


"The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments,         2 1 9 

seen  in  the  monuments.  But  it  tells  us  also  that 
a  canon  wore  his  canonical  habit  underneath  his 
mass  habit  at  high  mass,  but  so  arranged  that  it 
should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  out  of  sight  ;  hence 
the  direction  to  have  '  a  vestry  girdle  to  tuck  up 
his  cowl.'  At  Wells,  Hereford,  and  Norwich 
Cathedrals  are  to  be  seen  figures  of  canons,  the 
almuce  or  amess  appearing  at  the  neck,  although 
they  are  vested  in  eucharistic  habit. 

The  duty  of  the  minister,  as  far  as  the 
vestments  of  the  celebrant  are  concerned,  consists 
in  seeing  that  the  vestments  are  laid  out  in  their 
proper  order  on  a  table  in  the  vestry,  or,  should 
there  be  no  vestry,  on  a  side-table  near  the  altar 
(never  on  the  altar  itself)  ;  the  vestments  for  the 
assistant  should  be  on  the  right-hand  side  of  those 
for  the  celebrant,  the  vestments  for  the  deacon  and 
subdeacon  on  the  left.  He  should  also  see  that 
each  is  properly  put  on,  especially  that  the  alb  is 
drawn  through  the  girdle  so  as  to  overhang  it  and 
to  be  raised  about  a  finger's  breadth  from  the 
ground,  and  that  the  chasuble  is  straight.  He  must 
especially  be  careful  that  the  assistant  does  not 
put  on  his  cope  before  the  priest  puts  on  his 
chasuble.  During  the  celebration  he  has  to  see 
that  the  chasuble  is  not  disarranged  by  genuflexions, 
and  to  raise  the  chasuble  so  as  to  give  complete 
freedom  to  the  priest's  arms  at  the  elevation  of  the 
host.     After    the    celebration    the    vestments    are 


220  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

taken  off  with  similar  ceremonies  in  the  reverse 
order. 

On  Ember  days,  Rogations,  in  processions,  and 
when  the  Sunday  or  Saint's  day  mass  is  said  in  the 
chapter  house,  on  Ash  Wednesday,  Good  Friday, 
and  Palm  Sunday,  albs  and  amices  only  are  to  be 
worn  by  the  ministers. 

The  dress  at  the  ordinary  offices  (mattins,  lauds, 
etc.)  is  amice,  alb,  stole,  and  cope  ;  a  brass  at 
Horsham  represents  a  priest  so  vested,  and  has 
the  merit"  of  showing  the  exact  manner  in 
which  the  stole  should  be  crossed.  This  com- 
bination of  vestments  was  also  worn  at  benedic- 
tions, at  absolution  after  a  mass  for  the  dead, 
and,  as  just  remarked,  by  the  assistant  at  mass 
if  a  priest,  and  by  the  celebrant  at  the  mass 
of  the  pre-sanctified.  'The  cope,'  the  rubric  tells 
us,  '  is  not  strictly  a  sacerdotal  vestment,  but  it  is 
worn  by  the  rulers  of  the  choir  and  others.' 

The  clergy  in  choir  wear  black  (choral)  copes, 
except  on  principal  doubles,*  and  on  the  doubles 
falling  on  Sunday,  when  silk  copes  of  the  colour 
of  the  day  are  worn.     On  the  vigil  of  Easter,  and 

^  Feasts  were  divided  into  Doubles,  Simples,  and  Sundays. 
Doubles  were  so-called  from  the  anthems  being  doubled,  i.e., 
said  throughout  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  Psalms  in  the 
breviary  office,  instead  of  the  first  words  only  being  said. 
The  principal  doubles  were  Christmas,  Epiphany,  Easter, 
Ascension,  Whitsunday,  Assumption,  the  Local  Anniversary, 
and  the  Dedication  of  the  Church, 


'The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments,         221 

through  and  on  the  octave,  they  wore  surplices 
only,  as  also  on  doubles  occurring  from  Easter  to 
Michaelmas. 

If  a  bishop  celebrate,  and  if  it  be  Maunday 
Thursday,  or  Whitsunday,  he  has  seven  deacons, 
seven  subdeacons,  and  three  acolytes — on  other 
doubles  only  five.  On  feasts  with  Rulers,  two  at 
least  ;  on  Good  Friday  only  one.  The  rulers  of 
the  choir  were  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  chant 
the  office  and  Kyrie  at  mass,  and  to  superintend 
the  choristers.  On  doubles  these  were  four  in 
number,  on  simples  two.  Rulers  wore  silk  copes 
of  the  colour  of  the  day  over  a  surplice,  and  had 
silver  staves  as  emblems  of  office. 

The  Roman  Pontifical  lays  down  succinct  rules 
for  the  vesting  of  a  bishop  for  the  different  duties 
of  his  position.     These  are  as  follows  : 

Confirmation. — White  cope  and  stole,  amice,  rochet,  mitra 
aurifrigiata. 

Ordinations. — As  for  high  mass  :  colour  according  to  the 
day. 

Consecration  of  a  Bishop. — The  consecrator  as  for  high  mass  : 
colour  according  to  the  day  ;  each  of  the  two  assistant- 
bishops  in  rochet,  cope,  amice,  stole,  and  mitra  simplex. 

Profession  of  a  Nun. — As  for  high  mass. 

Coronation  of  a  Sovereign.  —  As  for  high  mass  :  colour 
according  to  day  ;  each  of  the  assistant-bishops  in  rochet, 
amice,  white  stole  and  cope,  mitra  simplex.  In  England  all 
the  bishops  used  to  wear  full  pontificalia. 

Laying  the  Foundation  of  a  Church. — Rochet,  amice,  white 
stole  and  cope,  mitra  simplex,  pastoral  staff. 


222  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

Consecration  of  a  Church. — The  same  till  the  mass,  then 
full  pontificalia  (white). 

Reconciliation  of  a  Church. — The  same. 

Consecration  of  the  Holy  Oil  on  Maun  day  Thursday. — Full 
(white)  pontificalia,  mitra  pretiosa. 

j4t  a  Synod  held  in  a  Cathedral  Church. — Rochet,  amice,  red 
stole,  red  cope,  mitra  pretiosa. 

Procession  of  Palms. — Alb,  amice,  purple  stole,  purple  cope, 
mitra  simplex. 

Procession  of  Corpus  Christi. — Alb,  amice,  stole,  tunic,  dal- 
matic, white  cope;  a  mitra  pretiosa  borne  behind.  In  England 
and  in  France  red  was  the  colour. 

Rogation  Days.  —  Alb,  amice,  purple  stole,  purple  cope, 
mitra  simplex. 

In  occasional  services,  such  as  baptism,  a 
surplice  and  stole  are  worn.  At  baptisms  two 
stoles  are  used,  one  of  violet,  which  is  worn  at  the 
first  part  of  the  service,  and  the  other  of  white, 
which  is  substituted  for  the  first  in  the  course  of 
the  ofiice.  This  observance  has  a  symbolical 
meaning  ;  violet  being  the  colour  which  typifies 
sin  and  penitence,  and  white  being  associated  with 
ideas  of  purity,  the  change  in  the  stole  is 
emblematic  of  the  regenerating  change  which  the 
rite  of  baptism  is  supposed  to  work.  A  reversible 
stole,  violet  on  one  side  and  white  on  the  other, 
is  sometimes  used  for  this  service.  In  proces- 
sions and  benedictions  at  the  altar  (/.^.,  blessings 
of  wax,  images,  etc.)  the  cope  must  be  worn. 
In  other  benedictions  stole  and  surplice  are  suf- 
ficient. 


T^he  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.        223 

The  cope  must  also  be  worn  at  an  absolution 
after  a  mass  for  the  dead  ;  the  colour  of  the  cope 
for  such  a  service  is  black,  the  ministers  lay  aside 
their  dalmatics,  and  when  the  celebrant  assumes 
the  cope  he  must  lay  aside  his  maniple.  If  for 
any  reason  a  cope  be  not  obtainable,  these  rites 
(benedictions,  absolutions,  etc.)  must  be  performed 
in  alb  and  crossed  stole  only,  without  chasuble  or 
maniple. 

Should  it  be  found  necessary  to  celebrate  high 
mass  without  the  aid  of  a  deacon  or  subdeacon, 
the  Epistle  is  ordered  to  be  sung  by  a  lector  vested 
in  a  surplice. 

We  must  now  approach  an  important  branch  of 
this  complex  subject — the  varieties  in  the  colour  of 
the  vestments  depending  on  the  character  of  the 
day,  in  other  words,  the  liturgical  colours  of  the 
vestments. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  definite  assigning  of 
particular  colours  to  particular  days  is  of  older 
date  than  Innocent  Ill's  time ;  but  before  him, 
and  even  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  the  fathers  of 
the  church,  we  find  that  the  early  Christians  had 
symbolical  associations  with  colours,  which  have 
formed  the  foundation  on  which  the  elaborate 
structure  of  later  times  was  built. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  there 
are  associations  of  sentiment  and  colour  which  are 
practically    indissoluble.       Black     and    sorrowful, 


224  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

white  (or  bright)  and  joyful,  are  synonymous 
terms,  and  similar  expressions  are  universal. 

White^  in  the  first  ten  centuries  of  Christianity, 
typified  purity  and  truth.  Saints,  angels,  and  Our 
Lord  are  for  that  reason  represented  clothed  in 
white.  As  we  have  seen,  the  earliest  vestments 
were  probably  white  ;  the  newly-baptized  wore 
white  during  the  week  after  baptism,  and  the  dead 
were  shrouded  in  white  ;  the  latter,  however, 
probably  more  for  convenience  than  for  any  sym- 
bolic reason. 

%ed,  the  colour  of  flame,  was  associated  with 
ideas  of  warm,  burning  love.  Our  Lord  is  some- 
times represented  in  red  when  performing  works 
of  mercy. 

Green^  the  colour  of  plants,  was  regarded  as 
typifying  life,  and  sacred  or  beatified  persons  are 
sometimes  depicted  as  clothed  in  this  colour  in 
reference  to  their  everlasting  life.     Lastly, 

Violet^  which  is  formed  by  a  mixture  of  red 
and  black,  was  said  to  symbolize  '  the  union  of 
love  and  pain  in  repentance.'  It  also  typifies 
sorrow,  without  any  reference  to  sin  as  its  cause  ; 
thus  the  Mater  Dolorosa  is  occasionally  represented 
in  a  violet  robe.* 

Further  than  this  we  cannot  go,  and  perhaps  we 
have  said  too  much.     It  is  quite  possible  that  these 

*  These  explanations  of  colours  are  taken  from  Smith  and 
Cheetham's  *  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities.' 


The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.         225 


theories  may  have  been  put  forward  to  account  for 
phenomena  which  depended  entirely  on  the  taste 
and  whim  of  the  painters.     It  is  well  known  that 
in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity   ideas  of  colour 
were  vague,  and  yellow  and  green,  dark  blue  and 
black,  light  blue  and  violet,  were  all  regarded  as 
being  the   same  colour.      Previous  to   the  tenth 
century,  it  is  quite  true  that  coloured  vestments 
are  to  be   seen  in   mosaics  and   fresco-paintings  ; 
but  the  combinations  of  colours  are  such  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  that  they  were  simply  adopted  by 
the  painter  as  convenient  aids  to    distinguishing 
the  various  vestments  from  the  surrounding  back- 
ground and  from  each  other. 

Coming  now  to  Innocent  III,  we  find  that  he 
prescribes  four  liturgical  colours,  white,  red,  black 
and  green.     These  were  the  principal  or  primary 
liturgical  colours  ;  but  there  are  others,  secondary 
to  these,  which  were  modifications  in  tmt  of  the 
primaries.     Thus,  properly,  red  is  the  colour  of 
martyrs,  white  the  colour  of  virgins  ;  but  there  is 
a  secondary  colour,  saffron,  for  confessors,  and  the 
secondaries,  rose   and   lily,  are    considered  inter- 
changeable with  red  and  white. 

Hopelessly  at  variance  are  the  practices  through- 
out the  Western  Church,  and  we  will  not  attempt 
to  give  more  than  a  brief  outline  of  the  general 
principles  For  those  who  desire  fuller  informa- 
tion reference  is  made  to  a  paper  by  Dr  Wickham 

15 


226  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

Legg  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of 
the  St  Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society,  in  which  no 
less  than  sixty-three  different  '  uses '  are  analyzed 
and  tabulated,  or  compared. 

The  rules  to  which  we  have  just  referred  are 
almost  the  only  regulations  respecting  which  uni- 
form use  prevails.  For  obvious  reasons,  white 
is  appropriated  to  feasts  of  St  Mary  and  of  the 
other  virgin  saints  ;  black  is  appropriated  to  the 
office  of  the  dead  ;  and  red  to  the  feasts  of 
martyrs.  Usually  white  is  used  for  Christmas 
and  Easter,  and  red  for  Whitsuntide  and  Feasts  of 
Apostles.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  the  same 
sentimental  associations  are  to  be  seen  with  colours 
in  the  middle  ages  as  may  possibly  be  traced  in 
earlier  times :  violet  being  essentially  penitential  in 
its  character,  red  being  indicative  of  fire,  blood  or 
love,  white  of  purity  and  joy,  black  of  mourning, 
Tind  green  of  life.  Hence  violet  is  the  usual  colour 
for  Advent  and  Lent,  red  for  feasts  of  martyrs, 
apostles  and  evangelists,  and  in  some  uses  for 
Passion-tide  and  Easter  ;  white  for  Christmas, 
feasts  of  virgins,  Easter,  and  sometimes  Michael- 
mas and  All  Saints  ;  black  for  Good  Friday  and 
offices  of  the  dead  ;  green  from  the  Octave  of 
Epiphany  to  Candlemas,  and  from  Trinity  to 
Advent.  The  use  of  the  last  colour  is,  however, 
very  arbitrary  ;  it  only  occurs  at  one  or  two  seasons 


The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.         227 

in   the   year  in   each  diocese,  and  these  are   very 
diverse. 

The  following  is  the  Roman  sequence  of  colours 
for  the  year,  and  it  may  be  taken  as  an  example 
of  all: 

Advent  to  Christmas  Eve  :   black  or  violet. 

Christmas  Eve,  if  a  Sunday  :  rose. 

Christmas  Day  :  white. 

St  Stephen  :  red. 

St  John  the  Evangelist  :  white. 

Holy  Innocents  :  violet  ;  red  if  a  Sunday. 

Circumcision  :  white. 

Epiphany  :   white. 

Candlemas  :   violet  for  the  procession  of  candles  before 

mass,  then  white. 
Septuagesima  to  Maunday  Thursday  :   violet. 
Good  Friday  :  black. 
Easter  :  white. 
Ascension  :  white. 
Rogation  Days  :  violet. 
Pentecost  :  red. 
Trinity  Sunday  :  white. 
Corpus  Christ!  :  white. 
Trinity  to  Advent  :  green. 
Feasts  of  the  Virgin  Mary  :  white. 
St  John  Baptist  :  white. 
St  Michael  :  white. 
All  Saints  :  white. 
Martyrs  :  red. 
Apostles  :  red. 
Evangelists  :  red. 
Confessors  :  white. 


228  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

Virgins  :  white. 
Transfiguration  :  white. 
Holy  Cross  :  red. 
Confirmation  :  white. 
Dedication  of  a  Church:  white. 
Harvest  Festivals  :  white. 
Requiem  :  black. 

One  or  two  miscellaneous  points  may  be  worth 
a  passing  notice  before  we  bring  our  account  of 
the  vestments  of  the  Western  Church  to  a  close. 

During  Lent  it  was  the  practice  to  cover  up  the 
images  in  the  church  with  a  curtain  called  the 
velum  quadrigesimale.  In  the  Fabric  Rolls  of 
York,  for  instance,  we  read  the  following  entry 
(Anno  1 518,  1 5 19)  : 

'  Pro  coloribus  ad  pingendum  caminos  dc  novo  factos  et 
pro  c  fauthoms  cordarum  pro  suspensione  pannorum  quadri- 
gesimalium  ante  novum  crucifixum  ivs. 

*  Pro  pictione  unius  panni  pendentis  coram  novo  crucifixo 
in  tempore  quadrigesimali,  et  pro  les  curtayn  ringes  et  pro  les 
laic  ac  pro  suicione  alterius  panni  xiis.' 

A  point  respecting  the  ring  is  worth  mention. 
Doctors  of  Divinity  and  bishops  only  may  wear  a 
ring  in  the  Western  Church,  and  the  former  must 
take  it  off  when  celebrating  mass. 

Besides  the  Episcopal  and  Diaconal  dalmatic^ 
there  is  a  third  kind,  to  which  allusion  must  be 
made:  the  Imperial  dalmatic,  which  from  time 
immemorial  has  been  placed  on  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe  at  their  coronation. 


T^he  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments,        229 

The  Imperial  Dalmatic  in  the  treasury  of  St 
Peter's  at  Rome  is  thus  described : 

*  It  is  laid  upon  a  foundation  of  deep  blue  silk,  having  four 
different  subjects  on  the  shoulders  behind  and  in  front,  ex- 
hibiting— although  taken  from  different  actions — the  glorifica- 
tion of  the  body  of  our  Lord.  The  whole  has  been  carefully 
wrought  with  gold  tambour  and  silk,  and  the  numerous 
figures  (as  many  as  fifty-four)  surrounding  our  Redeemer, 
who  sits  enthroned  on  a  rainbow  in  the  centre,  display 
simplicity  and  gracefulness  of  design.  The  field  of  the 
vestment  is  powdered  with  flowers  and  crosses  of  gold  and 
silver,  having  the  bottom  enriched  with  a  running  floriated 
pattern.  It  has  also  a  representation  of  paradise,  wherein 
the  flowers,  carried  by  tigers  of  gold,  are  of  emerald  green, 
turquoise  blue,  and  flame  colour.  Crosses  of  silver  cantonned 
with  tears  of  gold,  and  of  gold  cantonned  with  tears  of  silver 
alternately,  are  inserted  in  the  flowing  foliage  at  the  edge. 
Other  crosses  within  circles  are  also  placed  after  the  same 
rule,  when  of  gold  in  medallions  of  silver,  and  when  of  silver 
in  the  reverse  order. 

*  This  vestment  is  assigned  to  the  12th  century.  It  has 
been  conjectured  that  this  dalmatic  was  formerly  used  by  the 
German  emperors  when  they  were  consecrated  and  crowned, 
and  when  they  assisted  the  pope  at  the  ofiice  of  mass.  On 
such  occasions  the  emperor  discharged  the  functions  of  sub- 
deacon  or  deacon,  and,  clothed  with  a  dalmatic,  chanted  the 
Epistle  and  Gospel  ;  in  illustration  of  this  custom  it  may  be 
remarked  that  several  of  the  German  Emperors  took  part  in 
the  service,  even  so  late  as  Charles  V,  who  sung  the  Gospel  at 
Boulogne  in  1529.  The  dalmatic  was,  in  fact,  in  those  times, 
as  it  continues  at  the  present  day,  both  a  regal  and  ecclesiastical 
habit,  and  it  has  constantly  been  the  custom  of  European 
kingdoms  for  the  sovereigns  to  wear  it  at  their  coronation.'* 

*  Rev.  C.  H.  Hartshorne  in  Arch.  Journal. 


230  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

But  the  Ecclesiastical  nature  of  the  regal  costume 
of  the  middle  ages  does  not  end  with  the  dalmatic. 
Thus,  the  effigy  of  Richard  I.  at  Fontevraud  wears 
a  cope-like  mantle,  a  dalmatic,  and  a  white  sub- 
tunic,  answering  to  the  distinctive  costumes  of 
bishop  or  priest,  deacon  and  sub-deacon  respectively. 
When  the  body  of  Edward  I  was  exhumed  at 
Westminster  in  1774,  he  was  found  to  wear 
among  other  garments  a  dalmatic  and  a  stole^ 
crossed  on  the  breast  in  the  priestly  manner.  The 
body  of  John,  in  Worcester,  was  found  in  1797  to 
be  habited  in  costume  similar  to  that  represented 
on  his  effigy,  with  the  addition  of  a  monk's  cowl, 
no  doubt  adopted  in  order  to  safeguard  his  prospects 
of  future  happiness,  as  death  in  the  monastic  habit 
was  regarded  as  ensuring  a  passport  to  heaven. 

The  vestments  of  the  Eastern  Church  are  much 
simpler,  and  the  rites  connected  with  them  have 
nothing  like  the  complexity  associated  with  those 
of  the  Western  Church.  They  have  but  two 
colours,  for  instance — violet  for  fast-days  (including 
Lent),*  and  white  for  the  rest  of  the  year — and 
ridicule  the  elaboration  to  which  liturgical  colours 
have  been  brought  in  the  Western  Church.  This 
fact  might  be  indicated,  if  any  disproof  of  the 
existence  of  a  primitive  system  of  liturgical  colours 
were  needed. 

*  Violet  or  purple  (noi\6.pia  are  worn  throughout  Lent, 
except  on  Annunciation  Day,  Palm  Sunday,  and  Easter  Eve. 


T^he  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.         231 

The  following  are  the  rubrical  directions  and 
prayers  used  at  vesting  for  the  Eucharistic  servict 
in  the  Greek  Church  : 

Being  then  come  within  the  altar  [after  the  procession  up  the 
church^  they  [the  priest  and  deacon]  make  three  bows  before  the 
holy  table,  and  kiss  the  holy  gospel  and  the  holy  table :  then  each^ 
taking  his  (rroL\dpiov  in  his  hand,  makes  three  bows  and  s ait h  softly 
to  himself: 

O  God,  purify  me,  a  sinner,  and  have  mercy  upon  me. 

The  Deacon  comes  to  the  priest,  holds  his  ajoiyo-piov  and 
dypdptov  in  his  right  hand,  and  bowing  down  his  head  to  him, 
saith  : 

Bless,  sir,  the  a-roixd.piov  and  the  (LpdpLov. 

The  priest.  Blessed  be  our  God  always,  now  and  for  ever, 
even  unto  ages  of  ages. 

The  deacon  then  goes  apart  on  one  side  of  the  altar  ana  puts  on 
his  (noi\a.piov,  saying  : 

My  soul  shall  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  for  He  hath  put  on  me 
the  robe  of  salvation,  and  clothed  me  with  the  garment  of 
gladness  :  as  a  bridegroom  hath  He  put  a  crown  on  my  head 
and  decked  me  like  a  bride. 

Then,  kiising  the  cjpdptov,  he  puts  it  upon  his  left  shoulder. 
Then  he  puts  on  his  kTTip.<xviKio. :  putting  on  that  on  his  right 
hand,  he  saith  : 

Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is  glorified  in  strength  ;  Thy 
right  hand,  O  Lord,  hath  destroyed  the  enemies,  and  in  the 
greatness  of  Thy  glory  hast  Thou  put  down  the  adversaries. 

Then,  putting  the  other  on  his  left  hand  : 

Thy  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me.  O  give  me 
understanding  that  I  may  learn  Thy  commandments. 

[He  then  prepares  the  sacred  vessels.] 

The  priest  puts  on  his  sacred  vestments  in  the  following  manner. 
First,  taking  up  his  o-rotxa/otoi/  in  his  left  hand,  and  making  three 
bows  towards  the  east,  he  signs  it  zvith  the  sign  of  the  cross,  saying: 


232  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

Blessed  be  our  God  always,  etc. 

And  then  he  puts  it  on,  saying.  My  soul  shall  rejoice,  etc.,  as 
the  deacon  said  above. 

Next  he  takes  up  the  CTrcTpaxyj^i-ov,  and,  blessing  it,  he  saith  : 

Blessed  be  God  who  poureth  out  His  grace  on  His  priests, 
like  the  precious  ointment  upon  the  head  that  ran  down  unto 
the  beard,  even  unto  Aaron's  beard,  and  went  down  to  the 
skirts  of  his  clothing. 

He  then  takes  the  ^wvr;,  and  girding  himself  therewith,  saith  : 

Blessed  be  God  who  hath  girded  me  with  strength,  and 
hath  put  me  in  the  right  way,  making  my  feet  like  harts' 
feet,  and  hath  set  me  up  on  high. 

He  next  puts  on  his  eVt/xai^iKta,  saying  as  zvas  said  above  by 
the  deacon.  After  which  he  takes  up  his  k-Kiyov6.riov,  if  he  be  of 
such  dignity  as  to  wear  one,  and  blessing  it  and  kissing  it,  saith  : 

Gird  thee  with  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  thou  most 
mighty,  according  to  thy  worship  and  renown.  Good  luck 
have  thou  with  thine  honour,  ride  on  because  of  the  word  of 
truth,  of  meekness,  and  righteousness,  and  thy  right  hand 
shall  teach  thee  terrible  things  :  always,  now  and  for  ever, 
even  unto  ages  of  ages.     Amen. 

71;en  he  takes  his  <f)€\(^viov,  and  blesses  and  kisses  it,  saying  : 

Let  thy  priests,  O  Lord,  be  clothed  with  righteousness, 
and  let  thy  saints  sing  with  joyfulness  :  always,  now  and  for 
ever,  even  unto  ages  of  ages.     Amen."^ 

When  the  vestments  are  put  off  after  the  com- 
munion, the  priest  says  Nunc  Dimittis,  rpiaayiov, 
and  Paler  Nosier. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  complex  rules  hold 
good  in  the  Greek  Church  respecting  the  vestments 
to  be  worn  on  certain  days  in  the  Church's  year. 

*  Translation  from  King's  *  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the 
Greek  Church  in  Russia.' 


The  Ritual  Uses  of  Vestments.         233 

The  following  synopsis  of  the  vestment  uses  in 
the  ordination  service  will  show  most  clearly  the 
nature  and  distribution  of  Ecclesiastical  vestments 
in  the  Eastern  Church. 

Ordination  of  a  Reader  :  A  short  (^awokiov  put 
on  by  the  bishop,  which  is  presently  removed  by 
the  sub-deacons  ;  the  aroiyapiov  is  then  blessed  and 
put  on  by  the  bishop. 

Ordination  of  a  Sub-deacon :  The  candidate 
comes  dressed  in  the  aroiy^apiov  ;  the  subdeacons 
hand  the  wpdpiov  to  the  bishop,  who  signs  it  on 
the  cross  ;  the  new  sub-deacon  kisses  the  cross  and 
the    bishop's    hand,   and   girds  himself  with    the 

(jjpapiov. 

Ordination  of  a  Deacon :  The  candidate  kneels 
before  the  altar  ;  the  bishop,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  service,  puts  the  end  of  the  o)/uo(popiov  upon 
him.  After  the  service  the  bishop  takes  the  topapiov 
and  puts  it  on  the  new  deacon's  left  shoulder, 
saying  aSioc,  which  is  repeated  thrice  by  the  choir  ; 
then  the  bishop  gives  him  the  kmiiaviKia,  and  a^ioc 
is  repeated  as  before.  The  fan  (for  blowing  flies 
from  the  table)  is  presented  after  this,  with  the 
same  words. 

Ordination  of  a  Priest :  At  the  commencement 
the  candidate  kneels  at  the  altar,  and  the  bishop 
puts  the  (oiuo(i>opLov  on  his  head.  At  the  end  the 
(Jpdpiov  is  taken  from  him,  and  the  kirirpayjikiov  is 
received  by  the  bishop,  who  kisses  it  ;  the  newly- 


234  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

ordained  priest  kisses  the  vestment  and  the  bishop's 
hand  ;  the  bishop  puts  it  on  the  priest,  saying 
a&oc,  which  is  repeated  as  at  the  ordination  of  a 
deacon.  The  t^vr)  and  <^aivo\iov  is  then  conferred 
in  a  similar  manner. 

Ordination  of  a  Bishop  :  The  new  bishop  comes 
to  the  service  in  all  his  sacred  vestments.  At  the 
end  the  widO(j>6piov  is  put  upon  the  elect,  except 
when  the  consecration  takes  place  in  the  see  of  the 
bishop,  in  which  case  the  da/c/cot  and  the  other 
episcopal  garments  are  given  first.  The  same 
ceremonial  is  repeated  as  at  the  other  ordinations. 

The  vestments  worn  at  the  administration  of 
baptism  are  the  (paivoXiov  and  e-mfxaviKia. 

There  are  three  orders  of  devotees  in  the  Greek 
monasteries.  The  probationers  wear  a  black 
cassock  or  vest  called  shaesa^  and  a  hood  (Russian 
kamelauch^  yafxaXavyri).  The  proficients  wear,  in 
addition,  an  upper  cloak  [fxdvlvaq).  The  perfect 
are  distinguished  by  their  hood  or  vail,  which 
perpetually  conceals  their  faces  from  sight. 


APPENDIX  I. 

COSTUMES    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    ORDERS. 

THE  following  appendix  does  not  profess  to  furnish 
niore  than   an  outline  of  the   extensive  subject 
with  which  it  deals;  for  further  details,  as  well  as 
for  illustrations  of  members  of  each  of  the  orders 
reference  must  be  made  to  the  great  work  of  Bonann>,  cited 
A  p  ndix  III.     Bonanni  names  the  different  ha  us  rather 
loosely  ;  in  the  main  his  nomenclature  has  been  followed,  but 
brought  to  a  more  uniform  system. 

Monks. 

The  dress  of  monks  usually  consists  of  the  r.Hs,  turnc  o. 

closed   gown;   the    .cpuhr,    roughly  speakmg,   a    narrow, 

chasuble  like  dress,  with   the   front   and  back   porttons  rec- 

;:  and  of  uniform  width  throughout  ;  one  or  more  open 

gowns   it""'"-   -    '"fP")-'    ^"^    *\-^«7-     "'1°"^, 
astened  at  the  back  and  capable  of  bemg  ^^^--^"^^ 

head.     'Discalced-  is  not  always  to  be   taken  m  us  fu lies 
Jnificance,  or  as  signifying  more   than   simply     san  al     ■ 

D  fferent  vestments  are  worn  by  individual  orders  or  ho  ses  , 

the  nature  of  these  will  be  self-evident  from  their  names. 

,.   ALEXiANS.-Black  vestis  and   pallium,  both  reaching  a 
little  below  the  knee  :  caputium. 


236  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

2.  Ambrose,  St. — Dark-coloured  gown  with  cappa  and 
scapular.     Discalced. 

3.  Antonius,  St  {Armenia). — Ample  black  tunic,  girded, 
mantellum,  cuculla,  and  caputium. 

4.  Antonius,  St  {Canons  of). — Black  gown  signed  with  a 
blue  T  ;  girded  white  collar,  black  mantle,  also  signed  with 
T.  Others,  who  are  devoted  to  manual  labour,  wear  a  similar 
dress,  but  tawny  in  colour.  The  T  is  a  representation  of  a 
crutch,  the  symbol  of  sustaining  and  power. 

5.  Antonius,  St  {Egypt). — Black  tunic  and  scapular,  with 
round  caputium.     Discalced. 

6.  Antonius,  St  {Syria). — Long  black  gown  with  short 
round  caputium,  black  leather  girdle  ;  over  all,  long  black 
mantle, 

7.  Apostoli. — Tawny  tunic  with  girdle  of  leather,  scapular 
with  caputium  attached.  Cappa,  and  in  winter  short  and 
narrow  mantellum. 

8.  Aubert,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Cambrai). — Violet 
cassock,  and  cap  or  biretta  :  white  surplice. 

9.  Augustine,  St. — Black  tunic  girded,  black  cape  and 
hood.     White  may  be  worn  indoors. 

10.  Avellanans. — White  tunic,  scapular,  azure  pallium, 
square  biretta  in  place  of  mantellum. 

11.  Basil,  St  {Armenia).  —  Tunic  and  caputium  white, 
scapular  black. 

12.  Basil,  St  {Germany). — Tunic,  long  scapular,  long 
broad  cappa,  caputium  on  shoulder,  and  a  biretta  on  head  in 
outline  resembling  the  *  Tarn  o'  Shanter  '  cap. 

13.  Basil,  St  {Greece). — Black  woollen  tunic,  over  which 
another  with  sleeves  about  three  palms  wide,  open  in  front, 
with  woollen  fringes  or  loops  of  another  (but  still  dark) 
colour,  which  can  be  fastened  with  small  buttons.  Head 
always  covered  with  a  cap,  which  conceals  the  ears.  Capu- 
tium with  vittae  or  streamers  attached,  which  hang  over  the 
shoulders,  and  are  said  to  typify  the  cross. 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders.      237 

14.  Basil,  St  {Italy  or  Spain). — Till  1443  resembling  the 
Greek  dress  (No.  13).  After  that  date,  tunic,  leather  girdle, 
scapular,  cuculla,  caputium^ — all  black. 

15.  Basil,  St  {Russia). — Like  Greece  (No.  13),  with  the 
addition  of  a  small  cuculla. 

16.  Benedict,  St  {St  Justina  of  Padua). — Black  woollen 
tunic  to  which  a  caputium  is  sewn.  Scapular  ;  cuculla  from 
shoulder  to  feet  with  very  wide  sleeves. 

17.  Benedict,  St  {Clugniacs). — Black  cappa  clausa  with 
rude  sleeves  or  hood. 

18.  Benedict,  St  {India). — Black  tunic  somewhat  short, 
white  scapular,  mantle,  and  caputium. 

19.  Bethlehemites. — Black  woollen  tunic  with  leather 
girdle  ;  cappa,  on  left  side  of  which  a  pannula  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  manger  at  Bethlehem.  Discalced.  Black 
cap  on  head. 

20.  BiRGiTTA,  St. — Gray  tunic  and  cuculla,  to  which  a 
caputium  is  sewn,  gray  mantellum,  signed  with  red  cross, 
having  a  white  roundle  or  plate  at  the  centre. 

21.  Caelestines. — White,  black  caputium  and  scapular. 

22.  Camaldulenses  {Hermits). — White  woollen  tunic, 
scapular  and  round  caputium  ;  cuculla  (also  white)  in 
service.     Black  shoes. 

23.  Camaldulenses  (M^///^j). — As  Benedictines,  but  white, 
and  the  scapular  is  girded  round  the  loins.  Tunic  with  very 
wide  sleeves,  caputium,  etc. 

24.  Capuchins. — Rough  black  woollen  tunic  girded  with 
coarse  rope  ;  hood  and  cape.    Discalced. 

25.  Carmelites.  — Tunic,  girdle,  scapular,  caputium, 
brown  ;  cappa  or  mantle  white.  Hat  on  head  black,  except 
in  Mantua,  where  it  is  white. 

26.  Carmelites  a  Monte  Sacro.  —  Cappa  shorter  than 
that  of  the  other  Carmelites,  and  no  cap  on  head  at  any 
time. 


238  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

27.  Carthusians. — Black  woollen  pallium,  over  which 
white  gown  passed  over  the  head,  and  scapular  with  side 
loops. 

28.  Cistercians. — Benedict  XII  decreed  brown  as  the 
Cistercian  colour  ;  but  there  was  an  uncertainty  as  to  the 
interpretation  of  this  decree  ;  some,  alleging  that  gray  or 
black  were  included  in  the  term  *  brown,'  wore  those  colours. 
To  remedy  this  confusion,  Sixtus  IV  decreed  black  or  white  : 
black  caputium  and  scapular  girded  round  loins  ;  black 
cuculla  added  out  of  doors.      In  choir  white. 

29.  Cistercians  {Fogliantino). — Like  the  Benedictines  in 
shape,  white  in  colour.  Formerly  discalced  everywhere,  now 
only  in  France.     Black  wooden  sandals  worn  in  Italy. 

30.  Cistercians  [La  Trappe). — White  cuculla  with  ample 
sleeves,  girded  ;  caputium. 

31.  Chariton,  St.  —  Lion-coloured  tunic,  with  black 
cuculla  and  caputium. 

32.  Choors  {Canons  regular  of;  Bordeaux).  —  White 
woollen  vestis,  white  linen  scapular  ;  linen  cotta  in  choir. 
Almuce,  worn  over  the  arms  in  summer,  round  the  neck  in 
winter. 

33.  CoLORiTi  {Calabria). — Long  tunic,  with  round  capu- 
tium and  mantellum  from  rough  black  natural  wool  ;  woollen 
girdle. 

34.  CoLUMBA,  St  {Avellana).  —  White  woollen  tunic  or 
caputium,  over  which  a  scapular  ;  a  narrow  pallium  added 
out  of  doors. 

35.  Cross,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Coimbra). — Cassock, 
surplice,  and  almuce  ;  the  ordinary  canonical  dress. 

36.  Crucifers  {Italy). — Blue  tunic  (formerly  ash-coloured, 
or  uncertain),  scapular,  and  hood.  Silver  cross  constantly 
borne  in  the  hand. 

37.  Crucifers  {Belgium).  —  White  tunic,  scapular,  and 
caputium  ;  black  mozetta,  signed  in  front  with  a  red  and 
white  cross. 


Costumes  of  the  'Religious  Orders,      239 

38.  Crucifers  [Lusitania). — Blue  tunic,  over  which  gown, 
mozetta  and  hood.     A  pallium  added  out  of  doors. 

39.  Crucifers  (Syria). — Black. 

4.0.  DiONYSius,  St  (Canons  regular  of;  Rheims). — Long 
surplice,  over  which  (in  winter)  a  cappa  clausa  without  arm- 
holes.      Biretta.     Almuce  worn  over  arm. 

41.  Dominic,  St. — Tunic,  scapular,  and  broad  round 
caputium  of  white  wool.  Black  cappa,  shorter  than  the 
tunic,  added  out  of  doors. 

42.  FoNTis  Ebraldi  {Fontevraud). — Black  tunic  girded, 
scapular,  caputium. 

43.  Francis,  St. — Ash-coloured  tunic  girded  with  a  cord 
divided  by  three  knots  ;  round  caputium  and  mozetta. 

44.  Francis,  St  (de  observantia).  —  Woollen  tunic  girded 
with  cord  ;  cape,  hood  ;  colour  formed  by  mixture  of  two 
parts  of  black  wool  to  one  of  white.  Discalced,  in  wooden 
or  leathern  sandals. 

45.  Franciscans  {of  St  Peter  of  Alcantara). — Rough  and 
patched  tunic  girded  with  cord  ;  cape  and  hood.  Feet 
entirely  unprotected. 

46.  Francis  de  Paul,  St  (Fratres  minimi). — Woollen  tunic, 
dark  tawny  colour  with  round  caputium,  whose  ends  hang 
below  the  loins  before  and  behind,  both  girded  by  a  rope,  the 
free  end  of  which  is  knotted  with  five  knots  (novices  knot 
three  knots  only).  Pallium  reaching  a  little  below  the  knees, 
worn  in  winter  both  indoors  and  out.  Formerly  discalced, 
with  sandals  of  various  materials  ;  afterwards,  however,  this 
practice  was  dispensed  with. 

47.  Genovefa,  St  (Canons  regular  of). — White  vestis  and 
rochet,  black  biretta,  fur  almuce  over  left  arm.  In  winter  a 
long  black  pallium  is  added  to  the  vestis  and  rochet,  and  a 
black  caputium  or  hood. 

48.  George  in  Alga,  St  (Canons  regular  of). — Cassock, 
over  which  a  blue  gown. 

49.  Gilbert,  St  (Canons  regular  of). — Black  cassock  and 


240  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

hood,    and   surplice  lined  with   lamb's   wool.     Linen  cappa 
added  at  service. 

50.  Gramontans. — Any  dress,  very  rough.  The  *  re- 
formed'  dress  is  a  rough  w^hite  linen  tunic,  over  which 
another,  thinner,  of  black  ;  scapular  and  caputium. 

51.  Hermits  {Egypt). — Tawny  tunic,  black  pallium. 

52.  HippoLYTus,  St  {Brothers  of  Mercy  of).  —  Brownish 
tunic,  scapular,  hood. 

53.  HuMiLiATi. — White  tunic,  scapular,  mantle,  cape,  and 
cap. 

54.  James,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Spada). — White  woollen 
vestis  and  rochet. 

55.  Jerome,  St  {Hermits  of).  —  White  woollen  tunic, 
scapular  with  round  caputium,  cappa  open  in  front  :  all 
black  wool. 

56.  Jerome,  St  {Hermits  of;  foundation  of  Lupo  Olmedo). — 
White  tunic  girt  with  black  leather  girdle  round  loins;  small 
round  caputium  and  tawny  cuculla.  Black  biretta  worn  at 
home. 

57.  Jerome,  St  {Hermits  of ;  foundation  of  Peter  Gambacortd). 
— Tawny  tunic  girded  with  leather  girdle,  tawny  crimped 
cappa,  round  and  narrow  caputium,  square  black  biretta. 

58.  Jerome,  St  {Fiesole).  —  Tawny  woollen  vestis  with 
crimped  cappa  open  in  front.  Leather  girdle.  Discalced  ; 
wooden  sandals,  afterwards  abandoned. 

59.  Jesuati. — White  tunic,  square  caputium,  gray  cappa 
(after  1367).  A  white  appendage,  like  a  sleeve,  worn  instead 
of  caputium,  changed  by  Urban  VIII  for  a  caputium  of  the 
same  colour  as  the  mantle. 

60.  JoHANNis  Dei,  St.  —  Dark  ash -coloured  tunic  with 
scapular  reaching  to  knees  -,*  round,  pointless  caputium. 
Black  cap  added  out  of  doors. 

*  So  Bonanni's  text  ;  it  reaches  to  x.h.Q  feet  in  his  plate. 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders,      241 

61.  John,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Chartres). — White  vestis 
and  rochet  ;  almuce  over  left  shoulder. 

62.  John,  St  [Hermits  of,  de  Poenitentia), — Rough  woollen 
cloth,  tunic  and  cappa  with  hood,  feet  entirely  unprotected, 
heavy  wooden  cross  suspended  in  front  from  neck. 

63.  John  Baptist,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  England^. — Black 
or  brown  vestis,  scapular,  cappa  clausa,  and  mantle,  all  signed 
with  a  black  cross. 

64.  Klosterneuburg  {Canons  regular  of;  Austria). — White 
surplice  and  black  cappa,  for  which  latter  an  almuce  is  sub- 
stituted on  festival  days. 

65.  LiRiNENSEs  {Lerina  Island,  Tuscany). — Tunic  and  mantle 
girded  with  scarf,  over  this  sleeved  cappa  aperta  with  small 
caputium  :  all  black. 

6^.  Lo,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Rouen). — Violet  cappa, 
violet  mozetta  or  cape,  and  hood  in  winter  ;  white  cassock 
and  rochet. 

67.  Macharius,  St  {Egypt). — Violet  tunic,  black  scapular, 
small  cuculla  ;  cap  on  head  covering  hair,  forehead,  temples, 
and  ears. 

68.  Mark,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Mantua). — White  woollen 
vestis,  rochet,  pallium,  for  which  latter  a  mozetta  is  substituted 
in  choir  and  a  white  biretta  added.  Sheepskin  almuce  on 
left  arm. 

69.  Martin,  St  {Esparnai  \_Aspreniacum,  Campanid\). — 
Vestis  talaris  of  white,  above  which  a  sarrocium  or  scor- 
ligium,  which  is  a  species  of  rochet,  described  by  Mau- 
burnus.* 

*  Cit.  ap,  Bonanni,  vol.  iv.  No.  xvii  :  Quidam  enim 
subtile  integrum  cum  manicis  integris  habent,  quidam  autem 
deferunt  hanc  lineam  vestem  in  formam  longi  et  lati  scapu- 
laris  sine  manicis  in  lateribus  apertam  quidam  circa  tibia  ad 
latitudinem  palmae  Carthusiensium  more  consutam,  alii  scapu- 
lare  latum  cum  rugis  habent  aliis  est  forma  parvi  scapularis 
ctbrevis  cum  rugis  et  plicis  e  collo  pendentis  quod  Scorligium 

16 


242  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


70.  Mary,  St  {de  Mercede  Redemptionis  Captivorum). — 
White  tunic,  scapula,  short  caputium,  and  cappa.  A  small 
shield  bearing  party  per  fess  in  chief  gules  a  cross  pattee  argevt 
in  base  three  pallets  (the  base  charge  is  the  arms  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Arragon),  is  worn  in  front. 

71.  Mary,  St  {de  Mercede  Redemptionis  Captivorum^  another 
dress).  —  In  this  the  caputium  is  prolonged  and  the  feet 
discalced. 

72.  Mary,  Sr  {Servants  of). — Coarse  tunic,  scapular,  cappa 
and  hood  :  all  black. 

73.  Maurice,  St  {Canons  regular  of).  —  Cassock,  rochet, 
purple  cape  or  mozetta,  biretta. 

74.  Monte  Luca  {Hermits  of).  —  Tunic,  short  chasuble- 
like scapular,  mantle  and  hood  and  cap  or  hat,  the  latter 
optional  ;  all  tawny  colour.  Some  are  discalced,  others  with 
shoes  or  sandals. 

75.  Monte  Senario  {Hermits  of). — Black  tunic,  scapular, 
pallium  extending  below  knees,  caputium. 

76.  Monte  Vergine  {in  Avellina ;  ?nonks  of).  —  Tunic, 
scapular,  and  cucuUa  ;  out  of  doors  pallium  and  cap  sub- 
stituted for  cuculla.     All  white. 

77.  Olivetans. — White  vestis  with  wide  sleeves,  caputium 
crispatum  on  shoulder. 

78.  Pachomius,  St. — White  woollen  tunic  and  cuculla,  the 
latter  signed  with  a  violet  cross. 

79.  Pamplona  {Canons  regular  of). — Cassock,  alb,  sleeveless 
rochet,  ash-coloured  mozetta. 

80.  Paul,  St  {Hermits). — White  woollen  vestis,  rather 
short,  with  short  mantellum  over,  and  short  caputium  ; 
discalced. 

81.  Paul,   St   {Monks). — White   tunic  sleeved,  caputium. 


dicunt  quibusdam  ex  latere  linea  hasta  aliis  area  collum  pecia 
linea. 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders.      243 

and  collar  round    shoulders.      Out  of  doors,  black  cap  and 
cloak  (white  in  Hungary). 

82.  Peter,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Monte  Corbulo). — At  first 
gray  cassock  and  rochet,  and  almuce  or  caputium  ;  after 
1 52 1  black  cassock,  white-sleeved  rochet,  and  black  cloak. 

83.  Poland  (Canons  regular  ^).— White  tunic  and  linen 
surplice  reaching  to  about  the  knees,  fur  almuce  about 
shoulders,  dark-coloured  skull-cap  of  wool  edged  with  fur. 

84.  Portugal  {Canons  regular  of).  —  White  rochet  and 
tunic,  tawny  almuce,  and  pallium. 

85.  Premonstratensians. — White  tunic  and  scapular,  sewn 
up  in  front,  white  sleeveless  cappa  without  girdle,  white 
biretta,  almuce,  white  shoes.  (The  white  is  all  natural^  not 
dyed.) 

86.  Rouen  {Canons  regular  of  the  Priory  of  the  Two  Lovers). 
—White  tunic  or  alb  and  rochet,  almuce. 

87.  RuFus,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  France). — White  cassock 
buttoned  up  in  front,  white  girdle,  black  biretta. 

88.  Sabba,  St. — Tawny  tunic  girded,  with  black  scapular. 
Discalced. 

89.  Saviour,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Laterans). — White 
buttoned  cassock,  linen  rochet.  Out  of  doors  black  pallium 
and  biretta. 

90.  Saviour,  St  {Canons  regular  of  ;  Lorraine). — Black  tunic 
with  little  linen  rochet  hanging  down  from  the  neck  to  the  left 
side,  five  inches  broad,  like  a  girdle,  over  which  in  choir  a  cotta, 
and  gray  almuce  carried  on  the  arm  in  summer  ;  in  winter 
a  full  sleeveless  rochet  with  cappa  reaching  to  the  ankles 
of  black  linen,  whose  front  edges  are  decorated  with  red 
cloth  about  a  foot  wide.  Caputium,  whose  front  edge  sur- 
rounds the  face  like  an  almuce,  with  fur  about  two  inches 
wide. 

91.  Saviour,  St  {Canons  regular  of;  Syha  Lacus  Selva). — 
White  woollen  tunic,  rochet  and  scapular,  black  cappa. 

92.  Sepulchre,    the    Holy  {Canons  regular   of). — White 


244  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

rochet,  black  cappa  and  caputium.     At  the  left  side  of  the 
cappa  a  Greek  cross  cantoned  by  crosslets  in  red. 

93.  Sepulchre,  the  Holy  {Canons  regular  of;  Bohemia^ 
Poland,  Russia). — Black  vestis  and  rochet,  over  which  a  man- 
telletum  —  a  waistcoat  or  rochet-like  vestment,  sleeveless, 
but  rather  long,  open  in  front,  and  reaching  to  a  little  above 
the  knees — on  the  left  side  of  which  a  double-transomed 
cross. 

94.  Sylvester,  St. — Tunic,  caputium,  scapular,  cuculla  of 
blue.     Biretta  worn  on  sacred  occasions. 

95.  Trinitatis,  SS  {Redemptionis  Captivorum).  —  White 
tunic,  scapular,  and  cappa,  with  red  and  blue  cross  flory 
on  the  scapular  and  left  side  of  the  cappa. 

96.  Trinitatis,  SS  {Redemptionis  Captivorum;  Spain). — 
Cappa  brown,  otherwise  as  above  described.  By  others  in 
Spain  a  tawny  cappa  is  worn,  and  the  feet  are  discalced. 
Round  black  caputium  added. 

97.  Trinitatis,  SS  {Redemptionis  Captivorum ;  France). — 
All  white,  the  cross  plain  ;  feet  discalced  ;  caputium  also 
white. 

98.  UsETz  {Canons  regular  of). — White  buttoned  tunic  and 
surplice,  extinguisher-shaped,  like  the  ancient  chasuble. 

99.  Valle  de  Choux  {Burgundy,  ietween  Dijon  and 
Autun,  Canons  regular  of). — White,  black  scapular,  girded 
with  black  girdle. 

100.  Valle  Ronceaux  {Canons  regular  of). — Black,  with 
white  scapular,  very  small,  and  resembling  archiepiscopal  pall. 
Black  cappa  added  in  service. 

1 01.  Valle  di  Scholari  {Canons  regular  of). — White 
woollen  tunic  and  scapular  ;  black  cappa  lined  with  lamb's 
wool,  biretta. 

102.  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat  {Canons  regular  of). — Full 
red  cuculla  and  caputium. 

103.  Vallis  Viridis  (;?-f^r  Brussels;  Canons  regular  of). — 
Black  tunic  and  cassock,  white  rochet,  black  caputium. 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders,       245 

104.  Vallumbrosans. — Identical  with  the  Sylvestrines,  but 
grayish-black  instead  of  blue. 

105.  Victor,  St,  Without  the  Walls  (Canons  regular 
of;  Paris). — White  tunic  and  wide-sleeved  surplice,  almuce, 
biretta. 

106.  ViNDESHEiM  (Canons  regular  of). — White  tunic  and 
rochet,  biretta,  fur  almuce  added  on  shoulders  in  winter. 

107.  William,  St  (Hermits  of).  —  Tunic,  over  which 
another  sleeveless,  girded.  Scapular,  feet  entirely  unpro- 
tected. At  first  white,  but  black  after  union  with  the 
Augustinians. 

Nuns. 

The  dress  o^  nuns,  as  a  general  rule,  consists  of  a  vestis 
(gown  or  tunic),  girt  at  the  waist,  and  a  scapular.  To  these 
various  orders  add  pallia,  mantella^  etc.,  as  will  appear  from 
the  following  list.  Asa  general  rule,  a  white^r^^Tz/Wor  breast- 
cloth  is  fastened  over  the  head  and  round  the  throat  and  breast ; 
over  this  two  loose  vela  or  cloths  are  placed  on  the  head,  the 
inner  white,  the  outer  black.  The  feet,  even  of  *discalced ' 
nuns,  are  protected  at  least  by  wooden,  bark,  or  leathern 
sandals  ;  very  rarely  are  the  feet  entirely  unprotected. 

1.  AcEMETAE  (or  VigHants).  —  Uncertain;  according  to 
some  authorities,  green  vestis,  signed  with  a  red  cross,  above 
which  a  mantellum  or  cape.     Black  velum  on  head. 

2.  Agnes,  St  (Dordrecht), — White  vestis  and  scapular,  black 
velum  on  head,  ruff  round  neck. 

3.  Ambrose,  St. — White,  black  velum  on  head. 

4.  Angelica,  St  (Milan). — White  vestis  and  scapular,  cross 
on  breast,  ring  on  finger,  with  cross  in  place  of  a  jewel. 

5.  Antonius,  St  (Syria). — No  definite  rule,  any  dress  suit- 
able to  monastic  life. 

6.  AvGVSTi'tiE^^T  (Solitaries  of  1256). — Black;  Gregory  IX 
gave  licence  to  wear  white,  with  black  scapular  and  velum  on 
head. 


246 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 


7.  Augustine,  St  {ancient  habit). — Black  tunic,  white  linen 
rochet,  on  head  a  cloth,  ornamented  with  semee  of  red 
crosses,  reaching  down  the  back  like  a  cloak  or  cope. 

8.  Augustine,  St  (discalced ;  Spain). — Similar  to  the  corre- 
sponding monks,  but  with  the  usual  vela  on  the  head. 

9.  Augustine,  St  (discalced ;  Lusitania). — White  vestis  (to 
which  a  black  vestis  is  added  on  feast  days)  girded  with  black 
leather  girdle,  white  scapular,  black  mantellum  ;  on  the  head 
a  rough  white  linen  cloth  hanging  before  the  face  to  the  eyes, 
but  behind  to  the  waist.  On  this  white  cloth  another,  black, 
about  five  palms  in  breadth. 

10.  Augustine,  St  {Penitents  of). — Black  vestis  and  cappa, 
reaching  to  knees  ;  scapular  white  ;  face  covered  with  a 
black  veil. 

11.  Augustine,  St  {Venice). — White  ;  black  veil  on  face. 

12.  Basil,  St  {Eastern). — Natural  (undyed)  black  dress; 
black  mafors  (narrow  scapular-like  pallium) ;  gloves  or 
sleeves  covering  the  arms  and  hands  as  far  as  the  fingers  ; 
black  velum  covering  the  whole  head. 

13.  Basil,  St  {Western). — As  in  the  East  till  1560.  After 
that  date,  black  vestis,  scapular  and  velum  reaching  from  head 
to  knees  ;  black  gremial  or  breast-cloth.  A  cassock  with 
ample  sleeves  added  for  church  services. 

14.  Begga,  St  {Antwerp). — Black  vestis,  black  pallium 
from  head  downwards,  a  cap  (biretta),  resembling  in  outline 
an  inverted  saucer,  on  head  white  velum  round  head  and 
across  breast. 

15.  Benedict,  St. — As  monks,  but  with  velum  in  place  of 
caputium. 

16.  Benedict,  St  {de  Monte  Cahario). — White  tunic  and 
scapular,  with  black  velum  on  head.     Discalced. 

17.  BiRGiTTA,  St. — White  camisia,  gray  tunic,  cuculla  with 
sleeves  reaching  to  tip  of  middle  finger,  gray  mantellum.  On 
the  head  a  *  garland  '  or  'wreath*  concealing  the  forehead 
and  cheeks,  and  secured  at  the  back  of  the  head  by  a  pin 


Costumes  of  the  'Religious  Orders.     247 

On  this  is  placed  a  black  velum  fastened  by  three  pins,  one  on 
the  forehead  and  one  over  each  ear.  Above  this  is  a  corona  of 
white  cloth  consisting  of  a  Greek  cross  passing  over  the  head 
from  forehead  to  back  and  from  ear  to  ear,  the  ends  joined 
by  a  circle  that  passes  round  the  temples.  At  each  of  the 
intersections  of  the  cross  arms  with  each  other  and  with  the 
circle  is  fastened  a  small  piece  {gutta)  of  red  cloth — the  total 
of  five  doubtless  typical  of  the  Five  Wounds. 

18.  Caesarius,  St. — White  vestis,  girded  ;  black  velum  on 
head. 

19.  Calatiavans. — White;  white  scapular  signed  with  red 
cross  flory,  usual  white  and  black  vela  on  head. 

20.  Camaldulenses. — White  ;  scapular  confined  with  white 
girdle  ;    usual  vela  on  head. 

21.  Canonesses  regular  {Belgium,  Lorraine,  ^ic). — White 
tunic  girt  at  waist,  mantle  over  ;  black  velum  on  head  ;  a 
rochet  is  worn  in  some  houses. 

22.  Canonesses  regular  [Rouen). — Originally  white  ;  now 
black  tunic,  black  mantellum  lined  and  edged  with  white 
mouse-fur  ;  black  and  white  vela  disposed  as  usual  on  head. 

23.  Canonesses  (Mons). — Black  vestis  with  white  sleeves  ; 
black  velum  on  head  reaching  down  back  half-way  ;  pallium 
or  mantle  on  shoulder  hanging  to  ground,  black  lined  with 
white.  In  church  service  the  dress  consists  of  white  linen 
surplice  or  cassock  reaching  to  feet,  braided  with  a  cord  sewn 
upon  it  arranged  in  ornamental  knots  and  scrolls  ;  peaked 
head-dress,  from  the  point  of  which  hangs  a  long  pendant 
streamer.  Pallium  or  mantle  of  black  silk,  lined  with  mouse- 
fur,  white  with  black  spots. 

24.  Capuchins.  —  Rough  woollen  vestis,  scapular,  man- 
tellum, white  gremial  cloth,  black  and  white  vela  on  head. 

25.  Carmelites  (ancient).  —  Tawny  tunic,  short  white 
pallium  or  mantle,  white  velum  encircling  head. 

26.  Carmelites  (modern). — Tawny  tunic  and  scapular, 
white  pallium  reaching  to  feet,  usual  vela  on  head. 


248  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

27.  Carmelites  (^France). — Brown  habit,  white  mantellum 
lined  with  fur,  white  gremial  cloth  covering  head  and  breast, 
black  velum  above  this. 

28.  Carmelites  (discaiced).  —  Like  ordinary  Carmelites, 
but  with  somewhat  long  cappa  of  coarse  cloth  ;  two  black 
vela  on  head ;  feet  shod  with  woollen  cloth  and  bark 
sandals. 

29.  Carthusians. — White  tunic  and  scapular;  cloth  on 
neck  and  breast,  usual  velamina  on  head. 

30.  Cassian. — White  tunic  and  linen  rochet,  with  black 
velum  on  head. 

31.  Cistercians. — White  ;  gray  (sometimes  black)  scapu- 
lar, girded  ;  in  choir  a  white  cuculla  added. 

32.  Clugniacs. — Black  tunic,  girded  ;  ample  scapular,  also 
black  ;  usual  vela  on  head. 

33.  Columbanus,  St. — White  tunic,  cuculla,  gremial 
cloth,  and  velum  on  head. 

34.  Cross,  St  {Penitents  of). — White  tunic,  over  which 
another,  black,  girded  with  leather  girdle.  White  gremial 
cloth  and  velum. 

35.  Dominic,  St. — White  vestis,  girded;  scapular;  black 
and  white  vela  on  head.  In  choir  or  at  the  Sacrament  a 
cappa  is  added. 

36.  Dominic,  St  {Penitents  of). — White  tunic  and  scapular ; 
white  gremial  cloth  and  velum,  over  which  a  flowing  black 
pallium  is  placed  which  hangs  down  to  the  feet. 

37.  Eligius,  St. — Black  tunic,  white  mantle,  white  gremial 
cloth  on  head  and  breast,  over  which  black  velum. 

38.  FoNTEVRAUD. — Black  tunic,  white  gremial  and  velum. 

39.  FoNTEVRAUD  {reformed).  —  Black  pallium  added  to 
previous  dress. 

40.  Francis  of  Assisi,  St. — Rough  tunic  girt  with  a  rope, 
scapular  and  mantellum  ;  white  gremial  cloth.  Discaiced  ; 
feet  in  wooden  sandals. 

41.  Fructuosus,   St.  —  Cuculla,   pallium,  and    tunic,    all 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders.      249 

gray  ;  girdle  securing  tunic  black.     Discalced  (sandals  worn 
in  summer,  shoes  in  winter). 

42.  Genovefa,  St  [Canonesses  ./).— White  tunic  and  sur- 
plice, black  fur  '  almutia,'  ornamented  with  white  spots,  worn 
at  se'rvice  over  left  arm  (something  like  a  long  maniple). 
White  gremial  cloth,  and  black  velum  over  it  on  head. 

43.  Gilbert,  St.— Black  tunic,  mantle,  and  hood,  the  last 
lined  with  lamb's  wool. 

44.  Hilary,  St.— Gray  tunic,  not  long,  over  which  a  short 
tawny  pallium  ;  black  velum  on  head,  with  white  band  round 
forehead  ;  shoes  with  pointed  toes  turned  upward. 

45.  Hospitalers  of  St  John  of  Jerusalem.  —  Tawny 
tunic  with  white  cross  sewn  on  breast.    White  velum  on  head. 

46.  Hospitalers  of  St  John  of  Jerusalem  {France).— 
Black  vestis  signed  with  a  white  cross  fourchee  ;  pallium  with 
similar  cross  on  left  shoulder  ;  white  and  black  vela  on  head. 
Fastened  to  the  pallium  a  rosary  divided  into  eight  parts, 
symbolical  of  the  instruments  of  the  Passion. 

47.  Hospitalers  (C^;/.;/m./,-  P^nV).— White  vestis,  linen 
rochet,  pallium  from  shoulders  to  feet,  usual  vela  on  head. 

48.  Hospitalers  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (5^;r.;.j).— Black 
vestis,  with  double-transomed  cross  fourchee  in  white  on  the 
left  side  of  breast.      Usual  vela  on  head. 

49.  HuMiLiATi  (M/^;^).-White  tunic  girded  ;  loose  white 
scapular  ;  white  velum. 

50.  Infant  Jesus,  Virgins  of.— Woollen  vestis  of  dark 
tawny  colour.  On  certain  days  black  velum  on  head  reach- 
ing nearly  to  feet. 

51.  Isidore,   St.  —  Uncertain  ;  probably  gray   tunic    and 

cappa  with  hood.     Discalced. 

52.  James,  St,  de  Spatha.— Black  vestis  with  red  cross 
flory  fichee  on  the  right  on  the  breast.  White  cappa  reach- 
ing  to  feet.      Usual  vela  on  head. 

53.  Jerome,  St.  —  White  tunic,  gray  scapular,  black 
pallium,  black  velum  on  head. 


250  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

54.  Jesuatae. — White  tunic  and  brown  scapular  ;  cappa 
of  the  same  colour  added  at  service.     Usual  vela  on  head. 

55.  Lateran  Canonesses  Regular. — White  tunic  and 
rochet  ;  white  gremial  cloth  over  head  and  breast,  over 
which  black  velum.  A  wide-sleeved  surplice  added  for 
service. 

56.  Laurence,  St  {Venice). — Black  vestis  with  white  velum 
on  head,  not  altogether  covering  the  hair.  A  long  flowing 
cassock  added  for  a  service-robe,  and  a  long  black  velum 
placed  over  the  white  velum. 

57.  Macharius,  St. — Tawny  vestis  with  black  cappa,  or  a 
sheepskin  over  it. 

58.  Malta,  Knights  of. — Black  tunic  and  scapular,  black 
pallium,  very  long  and  supported  over  the  arms  to  keep  it 
from  the  ground  ;  white  Maltese  cross  on  left  shoulder  of 
pallium.  Black  and  white  silk  chain  hanging  from  neck 
supporting  wooden  images  of  the  instruments  of  the  Passion. 

59.  Maria,  St,  in  Capitolio  {Canonesses  of). — Silk  vestis, 
above  which  a  white  rochet.  Head  covered  with  long  black 
velum  reaching  to  ground.  At  first  a  crimped,  rufF-like  collar 
round  the  neck  ;  this  was  afterwards  abandoned. 

60.  Maria  Fuliensis,  St.  —  Rough  white  vestis  ;  white 
gremial  cloth  on  head  and  breast,  loosely  covered  with  black 
velum.     Discalced. 

61.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Annunciation  of. — Gray  tunic, 
white  chlamys  or  cloak,  red  cross-shaped  scapular,  usual  head 
coverings. 

62.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Annunciation  of  {another  order). 
— White  vestis,  black  girdle,  white  scapular,  blue  gown,  white 
gremial  on  head  and  breast,  black  velum. 

63.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Assumption  of. — Blue,  secured 
with  white  girdle,  white  scapular,  white  gremial  cloth,  white 
velum  (very  long)  on  head.  In  choir  a  pallium  of  mixed 
silk  and  blue  wool  is  added. 

64.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St  {Canonesses  regular  of). — Black 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders.       251 

tunic,  over   which  a   long   black    cappa  is   girded  in  choir  ; 
usual  gremial  cloth  and  vela. 

65.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Daughters  of  {Cremona). — 
Black.  Resembling  the  habit  of  the  priests  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  but  u^ith  black  velum  in  place  of  biretta.  An  extra 
black  velum  and  an  extra  black  mantle  is  added  out  of  doors. 

66.  Maria,  Sta  {de  Mercede  Redemptionis  Captivorum). — 
White  vestis  and  scapular  ;  usual  vela  on  head.  In  centre  of 
breast  a  shield  bearing  party  per  fess  in  chief  gules  a  cross 
pattee  argent,  in  base  three  pallets. 

6j.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Servants  of. — Same  as  corre- 
sponding monks,  with  velum  instead  of  caputium.  In 
Germany  certain  of  this  order  wear  a  white  velum  with  a 
blue  star  on  the  forehead. 

68.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Seven  Sorrows  of. — Black 
woollen  vestis  and  girdle,  head  and  breast  with  white  linen 
covering,  long  black  head-covering  put  on  out  of  doors. 

69.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Purification  of. — Simple  black 
vestis,  white  collar  and  cuffs,  black  velum  on  head — much 
like  ordinary  mourning  dress. 

70.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Visitation  of. — Black  vestis, 
pectoral  cross  of  silver  with  figure  and  monogram  of  Christ. 
Usual  vela  on  head. 

71.  Mary  of  the  Rosary,  St. — Black  ;  image  of  the  Con- 
ception, surrounded  by  a  rosary  embellished  with  figures  of 
the  instruments  of  the  Passion,  on  breast  ;  white  gremial 
cloth  and  white  velum  on  head. 

72.  Olivetans. — White  cuculla  and  tunic  ;  usual  vela  on 
head. 

73.  Pachomius,  St. — Black  tunic  and  gray  hood  ;  a  row  of 
small  white  Greek  crosses  along  every  edge. 

74.  Philippines  of  Rome. — Black  woollen  tunic,  white 
sleeveless  surplice  with  black  cross  in  centre.  Usual  vela  on 
head. 

75.  Premonstratensians. — White  vestis  and  pallium,  white 


252  Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

scapular  girded.  On  the  forehead  a  cross  signed  on  the  white 
velum. 

76.  Peter  of  Alcantaria,  St  (Solitaries  of), — Rough  vestis 
girded  with  a  rope  ;  scapular,  mantle,  and  velum.  No  cover- 
ing on  head. 

yj.  Sacrament,  Adoration  of  the  Most  Holy. — Black 
vestis,  black  velamen  over  head  and  shoulders,  golden  figure 
of  the  Host  on  breast. 

78.  Mary  the  Virgin,  St,  Presentation  of.  —  Black, 
white  scapular,  usual  vela  on  head  signed  with  cross  in  the 
centre  of  the  forehead. 

79.  Sepulchre,  Canonesses  of  the  Holy. — Black  tunic, 
over  which  a  white  sleeveless  surplice  reaching  to  knees. 
Usual  vela  on  head.  Mantellum,  on  the  left  shoulder  of 
which  is  a  double  transomed  cross  in  red.  To  the  left  side 
are  two  ropes  sewn,  knotted  together  by  five  knots  to  typify 
the  Five  Wounds, 

80.  Stephen,  St. — White  woollen  vestis  and  scapular  with 
red  cross  fourchee  on  breast.  Usual  vela  on  head.  In  choir 
a  white  cuculla  is  added  with  full  sleeves  of  red  silk. 

81.  Sylvester,  St. — Similar  to  monks,  but  with  usual  vela 
on  head. 

82.  Trinitatis,  SS  {Redemptionis  Captivorum),  —  White 
vestis  and  scapular,  black  pallium.  On  pallium  and  scapular 
a  red  and  blue  Greek  cross  fourchee.     Usual  vela. 

83.  Trinity,  Most  Holy.  —  White  tunic  and  scapular, 
tawny  cappa  signed  with  Greek  cross  fourchee  in  red  and 
blue.     Similar  cross  on  scapular.      Black  sandals. 

84.  Urbanists. — Blackish  vestis  and  scapular,  tawny  man- 
tellum at  service,  white  gremial  cloth,  white  and  black  vela 
on  head. 

85.  Ursula,  St.  —  Black  vestis  girded  with  cord,  white 
gremial  cloth,  long  black  velum  on  head. 

86.  Ursula,  St  {Rome). — Woollen  vestis  of  mingled  black 
and   violet,    with    black   tunic    fastened    by   black    leather 


Costumes  of  the  Religious  Orders,       253 

girdle.  Usual  vela  on  head,  the  black  one  reaching  to  the 
knees. 

87.  Ursula,  St  {Parma). — Black  vestis,  very  long  dark 
violet  pallium,  the  hem  girt  up  in  the  girdle,  and  that  part 
over  the  head  concealing  the  eyes, 

88.  Vallumbrosanae. — As  monks,  but  with  black  cuculla 
usual  vela  on  head. 

89.  MiNisTRANTES  Infirmis  [Belgium). — Black  dress  and 
scapular  ;  white  velum  over  head  and  shoulders. 

90.  MiNisTRANTEs  Infirmis  {Libumi). — Blue  dress  with 
long  and  wide  sleeves,  white  velaraen  over  head  and  breast, 
another  white  velamen  loose  on  head  girded  with  rope  round 
waist. 

91.  Sacrament,  Poor  Virgins  of  the  Holy. — Woollen 
tawny  tunic  girt  with  rope.     White  velamen  on  head. 

Mediaeval  University  Costume. 

The  details  here  given  respecting  mediaeval  university 
costume  are  abridged  from  a  long  and  exhaustive  paper  by 
Prof.  E.  C.  Clark  in  vol.  50  of  the  Archaeological  Journal. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  university  dress  of  the  middle 
ages  is  an  adaptation  of  monastic  costume.  The  original 
schools  from  which  the  universities  were  developed  were  of 
a  clerical  character,  and  their  members  wore  clerical  dress. 
The  dress  of  the  mediaeval  universities  was  international, 
unlike  the  costume  worn  to-day  ;  hence  the  following 
account,  while  primarily  concerned  with  the  English  uni- 
versities, will  serve  as  a  description  of  Continental  university 
dress  as  well. 

The  system  of  degrees  was  developed  in  France  by  the 
end  of  the  thirteenth  century.  There  were  four  grades  : 
first,  the  ordinary  scholar  or  undergraduate  ;  then  the 
determinant ;  thirdly  the  licentiate  ;  and  fourthly  the  master, 
professor  or  doctor.  The  undergraduate  resided,  attended 
lectures,    and    argued    on    questions    in    the    schools  ;     the 


254  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 

determinant  'determined'  or  decided  on  questions  upon  which 
he  had  previously  merely  argued  ;  the  licentiate  received 
the  chancellor's  *  licence '  to  incept  {i.e.y  take  the  steps 
necessary  for  obtaining  the  master's  degrees),  to  lecture,  and 
to  dispute  in  school  exercises.  The  mastership  w^as  the 
highest  grade,  and  it  included  the  regent,  who  was  engaged 
in  teaching,  and  the  non-regent,  who  had  ceased  to  teach. 
From  the  second  grade  probably  sprung  the  baccalaureat  ;  the 
bachelor  was  at  first  a  kind  of  supernumerary  teacher,  whose 
lectures  were  probably  recognised  only  within  his  own 
university. 

The  robes  are  thus  described  : 

1.  Toga  or  roba  talaris,  the  simplest  and  most  general 
form  of  university  dress,  probably  originally  derived  from 
the  Benedictine  habit.  It  was  full  and  flowing,  open  in 
front,  with  wide  sleeves  through  which  the  arms  passed  their 
whole  length.  Subsequent  modifications  curtailed  the  sleeves 
for  undergraduates  (retaining  the  fuller  form  for  mourning), 
and  (in  England)  introduced  distinctive  marks  for  the  various 
colleges.  The  modern  Bachelor  and  Master  of  Arts  gown  is 
derived  from  this  dress  combined  with  other  garments.  In 
certain  colleges  in  Oxford  it  was  directed  to  be  sewn  up 
from  the  wearer's  middle  to  the  ground.  In  Clare  Hall, 
Cambridge,  fellows  were  permitted  to  line  it  with  fur.  Gona 
and  Epitogium,  which  we  meet  with  in  certain  mediaeval 
statutes,  are  probably  synonyms  of  this. 

2.  Hood.  The  hood  {^caputium)  was  originally  the  head- 
covering  in  bad  weather  ;  it  was  afterwards  dropped  on  the 
shoulders,  and  then  assumed  the  form  of  a  small  cape.  A 
large  tippet  is  sometimes  seen  beneath  this  cape  in  representa- 
tions of  academical  costume.  The  Undergraduate's  or  Scholar^s 
hood  was  black,  not  lined,  and  to  it  a  longliripipe  or  streamer 
was  sewn  at  the  back  ;  the  Graduate's  was  furred  or  lined, 
with  a  short  liripipe.  The  various  degrees  were  indicated 
by  differences  of  lining  ;  bachelors  wore  badger's  fur  or  lamb's 


Mediaeval  University  Costume.        255 

wool  ;  licentiates  and  regents  wore  minever  or  some  more 
expensive  fur  ;  non-regents  wore  silk.  When  the  under- 
graduates abandoned  hoods  (before  sixteenth  century  ;  exact 
date  uncertain)  they  became  a  distinctive  mark  of  the  attain- 
ment of  a  degree. 

The  liripipe  was  also  called  tipetum  or  cornetum.  The 
latter  may  be  the  origin  of  the  French  cornette,  a  silk  band 
formerly  worn  by  French  doctors  of  law,  and  a  possible  origin 
for  the  modern  English  scarf.  The  word  liripipe  is  also  used 
to  denote  pendant  false  sleeves,  and  also  the  tails  of  long- 
pointed  shoes.  This,  however,  lies  rather  in  the  region  of 
everyday  costume.  In  1507,  at  Oxford,  we  find  typet  or 
cornetum  used  to  denote  an  alternative  for  the  toga  talaris 
allowed  to  Bachelors  of  Civil  Law.  This  is  clearly  not  the 
tail  of  a  hood,  but  its  exact  significance  is  uncertain. 

3.  Mantellum.  The  origin  and  meaning  of  this  word  are 
alike  uncertain.  The  use  o^  '  mantelli  ov  liripipia^  commonly 
called  typets,'  was  prohibited  to  fellows  and  scholars  of 
Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  by  a  statute  dated  1479,  except 
injirmitatis  causa.  From  this  we  may  infer  that  the  mantellus 
(also  called  mantella  or  mantellut?i)  was  something  akin  to 
the  liripipe.  In  another  notice  (1239)  they  are  coupled  with 
cappae :  certain  riotous  clerks  had  to  march  in  a  penitential 
procession  *  sine  cappis  et  mantellis.^  Prof.  Clark  infers  from 
these  passages  and  from  other  sources  that  the  academical 
mantellum  'is  not  a  hood,  but  is  worn  either  instead  of,  or  in 
addition  to,  the  hood,  with  the  cope,  or  else  instead  of  the 
cope  or  long  tabard.' 

4.  Cassock,  This  was  at  one  time  worn  by  all  members  of 
universities  under  their  gowns.  Doctors  of  divinity, 
doctors  of  laws,  cardinals,  and  canons  wore  scarlet. 
Certain  days  at  present  are  called  *  Scarlet  Days '  in  the 
English  universities,  on  which  doctors  in  all  faculties  wear 
scarlet.     This  may  be  a  survival  of  the  ancient  scarlet  cassock. 

5.  Surplice.    ^  A    dress    of  ministration,    used   in    college 


256  Ecclesiastical  Vest?nents. 

chapels  by  non-ministrants,  more  as  a  matter  of  college 
discipline  than  as  academical  costume.' 

6.  Almuce.  Distinctive  of  masters  and  doctors,  distinct 
from  the  hood.    Another  possible  origin  of  the  English  hood. 

7.  Cope.  There  were  two  kinds  of  cope  in  use  at  the 
English  universities — the  cappa  manicata  or  sleeved  cope  ; 
and  an  uncomfortable  contrivance  called  the  cappa  clausa, 
which  was  sewn  all  the  way  up,  passed  over  the  head  when 
put  on,  and  was  not  provided  with  sleeves  or  other  openings 
for  the  arms  save  a  short  longitudinal  slit  in  front  The 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  prescribed  this  as  a  decent  garb 
for  Archdeacons,  Deans  and  Prebendaries  in  1222.  Regents 
in  arts,  laws,  and  theology  were  permitted  to  lecture  in  a 
cappa  clausa  ox  pallium  only.  The  cappa  manicata  was  probably 
worn  generally,  as  being  a  sober  and  dignified  dress  ;  it  very 
rarely  occurs  in  contemporary  representations. 

8.  The  tabard  or  colcbium  was  a  sleeveless  gown  closed 
in  front  ;  but  ultimately  it  was  slit  up,  the  sleeves  of  the 
gown  proper  were  transferred  to  it,  and  the  use  of  the  latter 
discontinued.  All  not  yet  bachelors  were  required  by  the 
statutes  of  Trinity  Hall,  Cambridge  (1352),  to  wear  long 
tabards,  while  Clare  Hall,  the  adjoining  foundation,  required 
its  Master  (Head),  masters,  and  Bachelor  Fellows  to  wear 
this  and  other  robes,  in  1359.  Kings'  Hall  (13S0)  required 
every  scholar  to  wear  a  rcba  talaris,  and  ever}'  bachelor  a 
robe  with  tabard  suited  to  his  degree. 

9.  University  Head-dress.  A  skull-cap  was  early  allowed  to 
ecclesiastics  to  protect  the  tonsured  head  in  cold  weather, 
and,  except  the  ordinary  hood,  this  is  the  only  head-dress 
recognised    by    the    early    university    statutes.     This  pileus, 

however,  soon  assumed  a  pointed  shape,  thus  , ^ n  and  in 

this  form  was  recognised  as  part  of  the  insignia  of  the 
doctorate  ;  doctors  only  are  represented  wearing  it  upon 
monuments.  The  central  point  developed  afterwards  into 
the  modern  tassel.     Bachelors  wore  no  official  head-dress. 


Index  of  Sy?ionymous  Terms.  257 


APPENDIX  II. 


AN     INDEX    OF    SYNONYMOUS    TERMS. 


Alba  (Lat.),  alb. 
A.vaSoXdbLov  (Gk.),  amice. 
Anabolagium  (Lat.),  amice. 
XvafSoXalov  (Gk.),  amice. 
Anagolaium  (Lat.),  amice. 
Aurifrigium  (Lat.),  orphrey. 
Baltheus  (Lat.),  girdle. 
Bitarshil  (Copt.),  stole. 
Caligae  (Lat.),  stockings. 
Cambo  (Lat.),  pastoral  staff. 
Cambutta  (Celto-Lat.),  head 

of  pastoral  staff. 
Campagi  (Lat.),  stockings. 
Cappa  (Lat.),  cope. 
Capuita  (Lat.),  pastoral  staff. 
Cassacca  (Lat.),  cassock. 
')(^afiaX.av\Lov    (Gk.)  =  X^H-^' 

Xavxi^ 
Chirothecae  (Lat.),  gloves. 
Chrysoclave    (O.-Eng.,    from 

Lat.),  orphrey. 
Cingulum  (Lat.),  girdle. 
Clappe    (O.-Eng.),     pastoral 

staff. 
Cleykstaff  (O.-Eng.),  pastoral 

staff. 
Cleystaff  (O.-Eng.),  pastoral 

staff. 
Cruche    (O.-Eng.),     pastoral 

staff. 


Ephod    (Lat.,    from     Heb.), 

amice. 
k-LjiavLKa  (Gk.),  maniples. 
€77Lfj.avLKLa  (Gk.),  maniples. 
i-LTpax'i]Xiov  (Gk.),  stole. 
Faino  (Syr.),  chasuble. 
Fanon  [a),  (Lat.),  maniple. 
Fanon  [b),  (Lat.),  orale. 
Ferula  (Lat.),  pastoral  staff. 
Fourevre  (Fr.),  mozetta. 
Humerale  (Lat.),  amice. 
Hure  (O.-Eng.),  ecclesiastical 

skull-cap. 
Jabat  (Copt.),  alb. 
Kerchure  (O.-Eng.),  amice. 
Koutino  (Syr.),  alb. 
Manicae  (Lat.),  gloves. 
fxavLKia  (Gk.),  maniples. 
Mantile  (Lat.),  maniple. 
Mappula  (Lat.),  maniple. 
ujpdpLov  (Gk.),  stole. 
Orarium  (Lat.),  stole. 
Oururo  (Syr.),  stole. 
Pedum  (Lat.),  pastoral  staff. 
TrepLTpdxrjXi  (Gk,),  stole. 
7repLrpaxi)XL0v  (Gk.),  stole. 
(^aiXovLOv  (Gk.),  chasuble. 
(^aivoXi  (Gk.),  chasuble. 
(^aivoXiov  (Gk.),  chasuble. 
(^aKeuiXiov  (Gk.),  stole. 

17 


258 


Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 


Phrygium  (Lat),  orphrey. 
Pluviale  (Lat.),  cope. 
Poderis  (Lat.),  alb. 
Poruche  (Rus.),  maniple. 
Regnum  (Lat.),  tiara. 
Roba  (Lat.),  university  gown. 
Roc   (A.-S.),   tunicle  or    dal- 
matic. 
Sabatyns     "1  (O.-Eng.),  stock- 
Sabbatoncsj      ings. 
Sambuca  (Lat.),  pastoral  staff. 

(TTOlXapLOVJ  ^  ' 

Subtile  (Lat.),  tunicle. 
Succinctorium     (Lat.),    sub- 

cingulum. 
Sudarium  (Lat.),  maniple. 


Superhumerale  (Lat.),  alb. 

Tibialia  (Lat.),  stockings. 

Tilsan  (Copt.),  chasuble. 

Toga  =  university  gown. 

Toumat  (Copt.),  alb. 

Triregnum  (Lat.),  tiara. 

Tunica  alba  (Lat.),  alb. 

Tunica  talaris  (Lat.),  cassock  ; 
also  university  gown. 

Tunicella  (Lat.),  tunicle. 

vTTOjiavLKLa  (Gk.),  maniples. 

Varkass  =  vakass. 

Vestment(0.-Eng.),  chasuble. 

Virga  pastoralis  (Lat.),  pas- 
toral staff. 

Zendo  (Syr.),  maniple. 

Zona  (Lat.),  girdle. 


APPENDIX  III. 


A  LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHORITIES  REFERRED 
TO   IN   THE  COMPILATION   OF  THIS  WORK. 

*^*  As  this  list  is  intended  as  a  guide  to  the  student  rather 
than  as  a  criterion  of  the  labour  involved  in  writing  this  volume, 
it  has  been  reduced  by  the  omission  of  classical  and  other  texts 
from  which  casual  quotations  have  been  made,  and  of  many 
books  which  the  author  consulted  without  obtaining  any 
information  of  value. 
Badger  (G.   P.),  The  Nestorians  and  their  Ritual.      2  vols. 

London,  1852. 
Bloxam  (M.  H.),   Companion  to  the  Principles  of    Gothic 

Ecclesiastical  Architecture.     London,   1882. 
Bock  (F.),  Geschichte  der  liturgischen  Gewander  des  Mittel- 

alters.     3  vols.     Bonn,  1859. 


List  of  Principal  Authorities,         259 


Bona   y.)'   Rerum   liturgicarum  libri   duo.     3  vols.      Turin, 

1747- 
Bonanni,  Catalogo  degli  ordini  religiosi  della  chiesa  militante. 

5  vols.      Rome,  1722. 
Calderwood  (D.),  Historie  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland.     8  vols. 

Wodrow  Society,  Edinburgh,  1842-49. 
Carter   (J.),    Specimens  of    English  Ecclesiastical  Costume. 

London,  18 17. 
Cripps  (H.  W.),  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Law  relating  to 

the  Church  and  Clergy.     6th  edition.     London,  1886. 
Dolby  (Anastasia),    Church   Vestments  :  their   Origin,    Use, 

and  Ornament.      London,  1868. 
Fabric  Rolls  of  York    Minster.     Surtees   Society,   Durham, 
1859.      (Also  several  other  volumes  of  the  publications 
of  this  Society.) 
Fortescue  (E.  F.  K.),  The  Armenian  Church,  founded  by  St 

Gregory  the  Illuminator.     London,  1872. 
Haines  (H.),  A  Manual   of  Monumental  Brasses.     Oxford, 

1861. 

Harrison  (B.),  An  historical  Enquiry  Into  the  true  Interpre- 
tation of  the  Rubrics  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
London,  1845. 

Hart  (R.),  Ecclesiastical  Records  of  England,  Ireland,  and 
Scotland  from  the  Fifth  Century  till  the  Reformation. 
Cambridge,  1846. 

Hartshorne  (C.  H.),  English  Mediaeval  Embroidery.  Archaeo- 
logical  Journal,  vol.  I,  pp.  3i8-335»  vol.  ii,  pp.  285-301. 

1845-47. 
Hefele  (C.  J.),  Beitrage  zur  Kirchengeschlchte,  Archaologie 

und  Liturglk.      2  vols.     Tubingen,  1864. 
Howard  (G.  B.),  The  Christians   of  St  Thomas  and   their 

Liturgies.      Oxford,  1864. 
tssaverdens    (J.),     Armenia    and     the     Armenians.      2    vols. 

Venice,  1874. 
Josephus,  Works  of,  ed.  RIchter.     Leipsig,  1826. 


26o  'Ecclesiastical  Vestments, 

King  (J.    G.),    The    Rites   and   Ceremonies    of  the    Greek 

Church  in  Russia.     London,  1772. 
Labbe  (P.),  and  G.   Cossart,  Sacrosancta  concilia  ad  regiam 

editionem  exacta.      18  vols.     Paris,  1671-72. 
Lanigan  (J.),  An  Ecclesiastical   History  of  Ireland.     4  vols. 

Dublin,  1822. 
Marriott  (W.  B.),  Vestiarium  Christianum.     London,  1868. 
Martene   (E.)   and    U.    Durand,    Thesaurus    novus    anecdo- 

torum.      5  vols.      Paris,  17 17. 
Maskell,  Monumenta  ritualia  ecclesiae  anglicanae.      Oxford, 

1882. 
Migne,    Patrologia    (almost    all    quotations    from    the    early 

church   writers    are    taken    from    this   edition).      Paris, 

1 849-64. 
Moleon  (le  Sieur  de),  Voyages  liturgiques  de  France.     Paris, 

1718. 
Neale   (J.   M.),   A   History   of  the    Holy    Eastern    Church. 

4  vols.     London,  1850. 
Papal  Letters  (Calendar   of  Entries  in   the  Papal   Registers 

relating  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  ed.  W.  H.  Bliss). 

London,  1893. 
Paris  (M.),   Chronica   majora.      Ed.  Luard.      7  vols.     Rolls 

Series.     London,  1872-1883. 
Pugin  (A.   W.),    Glossary    of   Ecclesiastical    Ornament    and 

Costume.      London,  1868. 
Quick  (J.),   Synodicon   in    Gallia   Reformata ;    or   the   Acts, 

Decisions,     Decrees,     and    Canons    of    those     Famous 

National  Councils  of  the  Reformed  Churches  in  France. 

2  vols.     London,  1692. 
Reichel  (O.  J.),  English  Liturgical  Vestments  in  the  Thir- 
teenth Century.      London,  1895. 
Renaudot    (E.),    Liturgiarum    orientalium    collectio.      Paris, 

1716. 

Rock  (D.),  Church  of  our  Fathers.     3  vols.     London,  1849- 
52. 


List  of  Principal  Authorities.        2  6 1 


Rock  (D.),  Textile  Fabrics  :  a  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the 
Collection  of  Church  Vestments,  [etc.  in  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum].     London,  1870. 
Row  (J.)>  The   History  of  the   Kirk   of   Scotland  from  the 
Year    1538   to   August,  1637.     Wodrow  Society,  Edin- 
burgh, 1892. 
Rubenius  (A.),    De  re  vestiaria  veterum,  praecipue  de  lato 
clavo.      In  the  Thesaurus  Antiquitatum  Romanorum  of  J. 
G.  Graevius,  vol.  vi,  col.  913.      Leyden,  1697. 
Saussay  (A.  de),  Panoplia  clericalis  libri  xv.      Paris,  1649. 
Shaw  (H.),  Dresses  and  Decorations    of  the   Middle   Ages. 

2  vols.     London,  1853. 
Smith  (W.)  and  S.    Cheetham,  A   Dictionary  of  Christian 
Antiquities.      London,  1875. 
•  Stothard  (C.    A.),    Monumental    Effigies    of  Great    Britain. 
2  vols.     London,  18 17. 
Webb,  Sketches  of  Continental  Ecclesiology.     London,  1848. 
Wey  (F.),  Rome.      London,  1872. 

Willemin    (N.    X.),    Monumens    fran9ais    inedits.      2    vols. 
Paris,  1839. 
Reference  has  also  been  made  to  the  Church  Times,  the 
Builder,    and    the    principal    archaeological  periodicals    and 
publications  of  archaeological  societies. 


INDEX 


Absolution,  vestments  worn  at, 

223 
Acolytes,  cassock  of,  139 

insignia  of,  213,  214 

Aethelwold,  benedictional  of,  115 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  chasuble  at,  86 
Alb.     See  also  Alba,  64 

noaterial  and  colour  of,  65 

ornamentation  of,  66,  151 

plain,  when  worn,  67 

symbolism  of,  68,  69 

dimensions  of,  69 

modifications  of,  140,  141 

contrary  to  English  Church 

law,  201 

by  whom  worn,  214 

Alba.     See  also  Alb,  Dalmatica, 

Roba  Talaris 
by   whom  and  when   worn, 

28,  30 

origin  of,  29,  31 

description  of,  30 

canons  respecting,  30 

ornamentation  of,  32,  59 

baptismal,  36,  37 

of  newly  baptized,  171 

sigillata,  bullata,  dd 

in  Gallican  church,  135 

Eastern  equivalent  of,  178 

Alcuin  (pseudo-)  quoted,   34,  64, 

69,  77.89,  96,  103,  III,  149 
Almuce,  description  of,  142 
distinctions  of  ecclesiastical 

rank  in,  142 
derivation  of  name,  142 


Almuce,  evolution  of,  143-146 

worn  under  Eucharistic  vest- 
ments, 219 

in  the  universities,  256 

Amalarius  of  Metz  quoted,  52,  68, 
T],  89,  92-95,  103,  122 

Ambrose  cited,  38 

Amess.     See  Almuce 

Amice,  64 

origin  of,  71 

how,  by  whom,  and  when 

worn,  71,  214 

description  of,  71 

symbolism  of,  72 

ornamentation  of,  151 

vakass  borrowed  from,  188 

Amys.     See  Almuce 

Anastasius  Bibliothecarius 
quoted,  34 

Anglican  church,  vestments  in, 
194  et  seqq. 

Apparels,  153 

Aquinas,   St   Thomas,   cited,  132 

Archdeacons,  supposed,  in  St 
David's  Cathedral,  80 

Aregius,  Bishop,  receives  dal- 
matica, 54 

Armenian  church,  baptismal  rite 
in,  171 

vestments  of,  176  etseqq, 

Augustine  cited,  38 

Aurelian,  his  grant  of  oraria  to 
the  Romans,  38 

Autun,  MS.  at,  on  vestments  of 
the  Gallican  church,  29,  135 


Index, 


263 


Autun,  Honorius  of.   See  Honorius 
Bishops  of,  their  privileges, 

102 
Auxanius,    circumstances    of    his 

receipt  of  the  pallium,  51 

Bamberg,  Bishops  of,  their  privi- 
leges, 102 
Bands,  origin  and  development  of, 
208 

when  worn   in  Presbyterian 

church,  209 
Baptismal  vestments  of  adminis- 
trator, 36,  122,  222  ;  of  baptized, 
171 

alba,  36 

stole,  222 

Bells  and  pomegranates,  6 
Benedict  III,  life  of,  quoted,  66 
Benediction  of  vestments,  212 
Biretta,  birettum,  150,  201 
Bishops,  insignia  of,  27,  28,  213 

stole,  how  worn  by,  74 

dalmatic  of,  79 

wearing    archiepiscopal    in- 
signia, 102 

subcingulum  once  worn  by, 

107 
vestments  worn  by,  on  dif- 
ferent occasions,  221.     See  also 
under  the  names   of   different 
vestments 
Bloxam  quoted,  80 
Bonanni  quoted,  Appendix  i 
Boniface    VIII     adds   crown    to 

tiara,  121 
Bonnet  of  Levitical  priest,  5 
Brachialia,  122 

Braga,  Councils  of.     See  Council 
Breastplate  of  the  ephod,  9 
Breeches,  4 
Bucer  quoted,  195 
Bullinger  quoted,  104 
Buskins.     See  Stockings 
Byrrhus,  33 

Caligae.     See  Stockings 
Calliculae,  59 
Canons.     See  Council 
Canon's  cope,  148,  220 
Cap,  Levitical,  5 
ecclesiastical,  149 


Cap,  Malabar,  177 

university,  256 

Cappa,  monastic,  235 

serica,  148 

manicata,  256 

clausa,  256 

See  also  Cope 

Caputium,  235,  254 

Cardinals  wear  scarlet  cassock,  139 

Carthage,  Council  of.    6"^^  Council 

Cashel,  crozier  of,  127 

Cassianus  quoted,  44 

Cassikin,  204 

Cassock,  description  of,  138 

distinction   of    ecclesiastical 

rank  in,  139 

modern,  139 

in  Presbyterian  church,  207 

in  universities,  255 

Casula    in   Gallican    church,  29, 

135 

secular,  43,  44 

See  also  Chasuble 

Celebrant,  vestments  of,  214 
Celestine,    Pope,    his    letter    on 

vestment  ritual,  26,  46,  57 
Cencio  de  Sabellis  quoted,    107, 

108 
Chain,  golden,  103 
Xa/iaXai;x'7.  1 76,  1 88,  234 
Chambre,  Will,  de,  quoted,  14 1 
Charles  I,  his  ordinance  respect- 
ing vestments,  204 
Charles  the  Great,  60 
Chasuble  {see  also  Planeta),  64 

materials  of,  81 

eucharistic  and  processional, 

82 

description  and  varieties  of, 

83,84 

dimensions  of,  86 

ornamentation  of,  86,  152 

symbolism  of,  89 

forbidden  in  English  church, 

201 

folded,  when  worn,  215 

Childebert  consents  to  bestowal  of 

pallium,  51 
Chimere,  148,  199 
Chirothecae.     See  Gloves 
Choir,  vestments  of,  148,  220 
Chorkappa,  194 


264 


Index 


Chrismale,  171 

Chrysome,  172 

Cicero  quoted,  43 

Cidaris,  112 

Clark,  Professor  E.  C,  quoted, 
253,  ^/  seqq. 

Clavi,  31,  32,  42,  49,  58,  80 

Clement,  liturg>'  of,  15,  19 

Coat  of  fine  linen,  4 

Collar,  Roman,  148 

Colobium,  32-36 

in  the  universities,  256 

Colours,  liturgical,  unknown  in 
Early  church,  58 

in  Western  church,  223 

in  Eastern  church,  230 

Commodus,  t,t, 

Consecration  of  Archbishop  Par- 
ker, 198 

Constantius,  17 

Cope,  origin  of,  146 

description  and  material  of, 

146 

hood  of,  147 

morse  of,  147 

canon's,  148,  220 

ornamentation  of,  153 

for  most  part  forbidden  in 

English  church,  201 

worn  by  minister,  217 

university,  256 

Corinthians,  First  Epistle  to, 
quoted,  22 

Cornette,  Cornetum,  255 

Coronation  robes,  162.  See  Dal- 
matic, imperial 

Cotta,  141 

Council,  second  of  Braga,  40 

fourth  of  Braga,  40,  41 

fourth  of  Carthage,  30 

of  Mayence,  41 

first  of  Narbonne,  30 

fourth  of  Toledo,  27,  31,  35, 

39»  53.  55.  64,  114,  122 

See  also  Synod 

Coverdale,  vestments  worn  by,  198 

cited,  200 

Cross-staff,  125,  130 

Crozier.     See  Pastoral  staff 

Cuthino,  177,  180 

Cyprian,  St,  of  Carthage,  33 

C3'ril,  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  17 


Dalmatic  {see  also  Dalmatica),  64 

derived  from  alba,  78 

episcopal  and  diaconal,  79, 

214 

ornamentation  of,  80,  152 

symbolism  of,  79,  81 

by  whom  worn,  214 

imperial,  229 

Dalmatica,  a  vestment  in  Rome, 

29.  45.  53 

secular,  32 

Sylvester's   decree    concern- 
ing. 34 

Isidore  on,  35 

David  wears  ephod,  8 

Deacon,  insignia  of,  28,  34,  52, 

214 

when  to  wear  alba,  30 

Sylvester's  decree  respecting 

vestments  of,  34,  52 

stole,  how  worn  by,  74 

dalmatic  of,  79 

folded  chasuble,  when  worn 

by,  215 
Degrees,  Mediaeval  university,  253 
how  distinguished  by  dress, 

254 
De  Saussay  quoted,  58 
Destruction  of  vestments,  168 
Development  of  vestments,  chaps. 

i-iii  passim 
Doctors  of  Divinity  wear  scarlet 

cassocks,  139 

wear  gray  almuces,  142 

Doeg,  8 

Dol,  Bishops  of,  their  privileges, 

102 
Dolby,  Mrs,  quoted,  69,  144,  149 
Dominica  in  albis  depositis,  172 
Dorsal  orphrey,  88 
Doubles,  220 
Drawers,  4 

Dublin,  Synod  of.     See  Synod 
Duchesne  quoted,  50 
Dunstan,  St,  figure  of,  97,  116,  118 
Durandus  quoted,  io5,  134,  172 
Durham  Rites  quoted,  167 

Eastern  Churches,  vestments   of, 

chap.  V 
'EyKoXTTtoi/,  176,  188,  191 
Elagabalus,  33 


Index. 


265 


Embroidery.        See    Apparels, 

Orphreys 

Oriental,  162 

England,  excellence  of  embroidery 

in,  163 
destruction  of  vestments  in, 

169 

vestments  of  church  of,  194 

Ephod,  description  of,  6,  7 

girdle  of,  7 

by  whom  worn,  8 

worshipped,  8,  9 

proper  name,  9 

breastplate  of,  9 

Latin  name  for  amice,  257 

'ETTiyovariov,  I08,  176,  186,  191 
'ETTiiJiaviKia,   136,    176,    180,    191, 

233 

Epiphanius  quoted,  113 

Epitogium,  254 

'ETTtrpax'/X'oi',  50,   176,  1S2,  191, 

Estla,  190 

Eucharistic  vestments,  chap,  iii 

chasuble,  82 

'E^wXa^aXavxih  1 76,  1 88,  191 
Exodus,  book  of,  quoted,  4-8 

■  Fabius,  33 
Fagius  quoted,  195 
Ferula,  58 

Fife,  Synod  of.     See  Synod 
Final  period  of  vestments,  chap,  iii 
Flower  of  chasuble,  89 
Folkestone  ritual  case,  201 
Fountains  Abbey  mitre,  119 

Gallican  church,  vestments  of,  29, 

135 

Gammadia,  58 

Garland,  baptismal,  171 

Genesis  of  vestments,  chap,  i 

Geneva  gown,  208 

Georgi  quoted,  106 

Germanus  quoted,    18,   175,    178, 

184 
Germany,  vestments  in,  193 
Gideon,  8 
Girdle,  Levitical,  4 

of ephod,  7 

ecclesiastical,    64,    70.       See 

also  ^wj'j; 


Girdle,  contrasted  with  subcingu- 
lum,  107,  109 

Gloves,  64 

when  recognised  as  vest- 
ments, 121 

symbolism  of,  122 

ornamentation  of,  152 

by  whom  worn,  214 

Gold  plate,  apostolic,  112 

Golden  chain  (loop  of  pall),  103 

Gona,  254 

Gown,  black  preaching,  202,  204 

monastic,  235 

university.     See  Toga 

See  also  Geneva  gown 

Gregory  the  Great  quoted,  28,  45, 
51,  52,  104 

picture  of,  54 

sacramentary  of,  55 

Gypciere,  loS 

Headdress,  ecclesiastical,  149 

university,  256 

High  Priest,  vestments  of,  6  et  seq. 
Holland,  church  of,  vestments  in, 

22,  210 
Homer  cited,  20 
Honorius  of  Autun  quoted,  64,  69, 

75,  103,  109,  in,  121,  122,123, 

131 

Hood  of  chasuble,  82 

of  cope,  147,  153 

monastic,  235 

university,  254 

Hope,  Mr  St  John,  quoted,  144, 

166 
Hosea  quoted,  8 
Humeral  orphrey,  88 
Hurrara,  190 

Infulae,  118,  129 

Innocent  HI  quoted,  58,  64,  69, 

75,  89,  96,  103,  107,  131,  134, 

225 
Innocent     IV     covets      English 

orphreys,  163 
Institution  of  bishops,  55 
Inventory  of  Boniface  VIII,  75 

Canterbury,  65 

Dover,  65 

Lincoln,  81,  129,  158,  166 

London,  St  Mary  Hill,  141 


266 


Index. 


Inventory   of    Peterborough,    65, 

66,68 

Westminster,  65,  70,  218 

Winchester,  65,  129 

Irish  crozier,  126,  et  seqq. 

Isidore  of  Seville,  27,  35,  54,  55, 

56,  58,  112,  115,  122,  126 
Issues  of  the  Exchequer  quoted, 

164 
Ivo  of  Chartres  quoted,  52,  64, 

69,  89,  96,  105,  III,  122 

James  I  prescribes  vestments  for 

Scotland,  203 
Jerome,  15-18,  114 
Jewel,  Bishop,  cited,  104 
Jewish  vestments,  2-14,  18,  136 
Joannes  Diaconus,  his  portrait  of 

Gregory  I,  54 
John,  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  53 
Josephus  quoted,  /\- 10  pas  si  j?i 
Judges,  Book  of,  8,  9 

Kamelauch,  234 
Ki^apig,  112 
Kodi,  177,  186 
KoXojSiov.     See  Colobium 
Kulpas,  189 

Lampridius  quoted,  33,  43,  44 

Aa/i7rp6e,  meaning  of,  19 

Landulphus,  pontifical  of,  40 

Laoghaire,  druids  of  King,  their 
prophecy,  115,  128 

Lector,  213 

Leo  III,  58 

Letters  on  vestments,  59 

Levitical  vestments.     See  Jewish 

Limerick  mitre,  120 

Lincolnshire,  destruction  of  vest- 
ments in,  170 

Lineae  =  tails  of  pall,  104 

Linen  breeches,  4 

tunic,  4 

Liripipe,  254 

Liturgical  colours.     See  Colours 

Liturgy  of  Clement.     6ee  Clement 

Lituus,  56 

Aiopia,  180 

Lucca,  Bishops  of,  their  privileges, 
102 

Luther,  reformation  of,  193 


Macarius,  17 
Mafors,  246 
Maimonides  quoted,  4 
Malabar  vestments,  177  ei  seqq, 
'^lavlbaq,  176,  187,  191,  234 
Manicae,  121,  135 
Maniple,     64,     180.       See    also 
Mappula 

description  of,  75 

symbolism  of,  77 

ornamentation  of,  151 

by  whom  worn,  214 

Mantelletum,  199 

Mantellum,  245,  255 

Mantle,  210 

Manualia,  29,  135 

Mappula,  a  Roman  vestment,  29, 

^^5      •  •       r 
origm  of,  52 

spread  of,  53,  54 

Marriott  quoted,   15,  16,  19,  25, 

29,  50.  62,  94,  115,  122 

Martene,  29 

Mayence,  Council  of.    See  Council 

Menard,  115 

Mesnaemphthes,  5 

Messesjorta,  194 

Messhake,  194 

Micah,  8 

Minerva  Library,  pontifical  in,  37 

Minister,  dress  and  duties  of,  at 

mass,  217,  219,  220 

Mitre,  Levitical,  10 

ecclesiastical,  64 

origin  of,  1 12 

early,  1 14 

development  of,  1 16 

infulae  of,  ii8 

ornamentation  of,  118 

various  kinds  of,  119 

by  whom  worn,  214 

Monastic  dress,  appendix  i 

Eastern,  234 

Monuments,  etc.,  cited — 

Arundel,  156 

Bamberg,  102,  125 

Bathampton,  85 

Beverley,  71,  157 

Birmingham,  145 

Broadwater,  156 

Caerleon,  49 

Cambridge,  150 


Index, 


267 


Monuments,  etc.,  cited— continued 

Chesham  Bois,  172,  173 

Cobham,  145 

Ely,  74,  133,  202 

Fontevraud,  230 

Fulbourne,  156 

Havant,  156 

Hereford,  145,  219 

Horsham,  220 

Kilkenny,  90 

Liibeck,  193 

Mayence,  100,  117,  118,  125 

Milton,  77 

Norwich,  219 

Oxford,  125,  145 

Randworth,  78 

Ravenna,  46 

St  David's,  80 

Salisbury',  1 17 

Sessay,  147 

Shelford,  Great,  156 

Towyn,  71 

Wells,    144,    201,    215,    216, 
219 

Winwick,  83 

Worcester,  67 

Wyvenhoe,  76 
Morse,  no,  147 
Mozetta,  142,  148 
Msane,  190 

Names  of  vestments,  68 
Narbonne,  bishop  of,  rebuked,  26 

council  of.     See  Council 

Nestorian  vestments,  189 
Nicholas  I,  Pope,  51 
Numbers,  Book  of,  quoted,  9 

'Qlio(p6piov,  50,  176,  187,  191,  233 
Orale,  64,  134,  I53 
'Qpapiov,  50,  176,  184,  191,  233 
Orarium,  27,  28,  47i  73-     -^^'^  ^^^^ 

Stole 

derivation  of  name,  38 

secular,  38,  49 

canons  respecting,  39,  40,  41 

origin  of,  38,  49,  50 

Oriental  embroidery,  162 
Origin  of  vestments,  chap,  i 
Ornamentation  of  vestments,   58, 

66,  S7,  \Soet  seqq. 
Ornaments  rubric,  200 


Orphreys,  72,  73,  87,  88,  153 

Orro,  177,  184 

Ostia,  Bishops  of,  their  privileges, 

102 
Ostiarius,  213 
Ouches,  7 

Paenula,  43,  44,  49i  186 

Pall,  64,  187.     See  also  Pallium 

material  and  development  of, 

96 

history   of  individual   speci- 
mens, 99 

by  whom  and  when  worn, 

96,  100,  102 

symbolism  of,  102 

cost  of,  104 

not  ornamented,  98,  152 

Pallium,  monastic  cloak,  26,  46, 

^35'  245 

vestment  =  pall,   29,    47-5 1> 

135 

linostimum,  34,  40,  52 

Paris,  Matthew,  quoted,  163 
Parker,    consecration     of    Arch- 

"bishop,  198 
Pasbans,  177,  182 
Pastoral  staff,  27,  64  ^ 

by   whom   carried,  28,   57, 

214 

origin  of,  56 

description  and  development 

of,  57,  126  et  seqq. 
erroneous  views  concerning, 

124 

Irish  form  of,  1 26  et  seqq. 

infula  of,  129 

symbolism  of,  129,  1 31 

IlarEpecro-a,  176,  188,  191 

Paul,  St,  quoted,  22,  35 

Pavia,  Bishops  of,  their  privileges, 

102 
Peacock,  Mr  E.,  quoted,  170 
Pectoral  cross,  134,  188,  189,  191 

orphrey,  88 

Pelagians,  Jerome's  letter  against 

the,  17,  19 
Pellicea,  140 
Periods  of  history  of  vestments, 

25 
Perizona,  109 
ntraXov,  112,  113 


268 


Index, 


^aCKovT],  35 

Phaino,  177,  186 

^aivoKiov^  176,  186,  191,  233,  234 

Pileus,  151,  256.     See  also  Cap 

Pins  of  pall,  97,  98 

symbolism  of,  104 

Planeta,  28 

secular,  44 

Plate,  gold  on  mitre,  Levitical,  10 

apostolic,  112 

Plautus  quoted,  43 

Pollux,  Julius,  quoted,  43 

Polybius  cited,  20 

Polycrates  quoted,  113 

Poor-ourar,  176,  184 

Pope,  grant  of  pall  by,  51,  99,  214 

his  bearing  the  pastoral  staff, 

57,  131 
insignia  of,    105,    106,   119, 

130,  134,  135,  139,  214 
Prayer-Book  of  1549,  195 

1552,  197 

^1559.  197 

Prazona,  190 

Pre-sanctified,  Mass  of,  217,  220 
Presbyterians,  vestments  of,  205 
Priests,  insignia  of,    27,    41,   74, 

214 
Priest's  cap,  Levitical,  5 
Primitive    period    of    vestments, 

chap,  i,  25 
Processional  vestments,  chap,  iv 

chasuble,  82 

Pseudo-AIcuin.     See  Alcuin 

Rabanus  Maurus  quoted,    12,  62, 

68,  89,  92,  96,  122 
Rational,  64,  110-112,  152 
Ravenna,  mosaics  at,  4648 

John,  Bishop  of,  53 

Reformed  churches,  vestments  of, 

chap,  vi 
Reichel,  Rev.  O.  J.,  50 
Requiem,  vestments  worn  at,  223 
Rhinthon  cited,  43 
Ring,  54,  64 
by  whom  worn,  27,  54,  214, 

228 
description   and   symbolism 

of,  123 
Ripon   Treasurer's  Rolls  quoted, 

174 


Ritual  uses  of  vestments,  chap,  vii 
Roba  Talaris,  254 
Robe  of  the  ephod,  6 
Rochet,  141,  199 

Rock,  Dr,  quoted,  48,  49,  66,  67, 
75,  85,   106,  108,  114,  115,  134, 

135.  144 
Roman  civil  costume,  14  et  seqq.^ 

chap,  ii  passim 
Rubenius,  Albertus,  quoted,  38 
Rulers  of  the  choir,  their  insignia, 

131,  221 

Sabanum,  171 

Sabellis,  Cencio  de,  107,  108 

Sacramentary     of    Gregory     the 

Great,  55 
Sagavard,  177,  188,  189 
2rtK:/cog,  176,  188,  191,  234 
Salisbury  missal  quoted,  68 
Sampson,  Thomas,  quoted,  199 
Samuel,  Book  of,  quoted,  8 

wears  ephod,  8 

Sandals,  64 

development  and  description 

of,  90»  91,  95 
by  whom  worn,  91,  214 

symbolism   of,    92  et  seqq.^ 

96 

ornamentation  of,  91,  152 

Armenian,  189 

Saul,  8 

Scapular,  235,  245 

Scarf  of  honour,  1^ 

of  English  church,  203 

of    Presbyterian     church, 

207 

Scarlet  days,  255 

Scipio,  33 

Scotland,  vestments  in,  203 

Act  of  Assembly  of  church 

of,  209 
Senchus  Mor  cited,  128 
Septuagint  cited,  18 
Severus,  edict  concerning  paenula, 

43 
Shaesha,  234 
Shapich,  176,  180 
Shoes,  Malabar.  177 
Shoochar,  177,  189 
Shorshippa,  190 
Simples,  220 


Index. 


269 


Simplicity    of    early    vestments, 

Sinker,  Dr.,  quoted,  113 

Spain,  vestments  in,  204 

Staff.     See  Pastoral  Staff 

Stockings,  64 

by  whom  worn,  105,  214 

symbolism  of,  105 

ornamentation  of,  152 

Srotxapiov,  176,  178,  191,  233 

Stola  in  Gallican  church,  29,  135 
See  also  Orarium,  Stole 

Stole,  64,  182 

origin  of,  72 

description  of,  "Jl,  75 

how  worn,  74,  214 

symbolism  of,  75 

ornamentation  of,  1 51 

Spanish,  204 

worn  by  kings,  230 

baptismal,  222 

2roXj7,  18 

Stolone,  215 

Subcingulum,  64,  214 

history  of,  106  et  seqq. 

Subdeacons,  insignia  of,  28,  132, 
214 

Subiaco,  fresco  at,  108 

Succinctorium.     See  Subcingulum 

Sudarium,  50 

Superpellicea,  140.     See  also  Sur- 
plice 

Surplice,  origin  of,  140 

development  and  description 

of,  141 

varieties  of,  141 

in  England,  201 

in  Scotland,  204 

when  worn,  140,  217,  255 

Sweden,  vestments  in,  194 
Sylvester,  Pope,  decree  respecting 

dress,  34-36,  47,  52,  81 
Symbolism,  56,  57,  68,  69,  70,  72, 
75.  77^  79.  81,  85,   89,  92-96, 
102-105,    121,   123,    129,    131, 
176,  180,  184,  187 
Symmachus    grants    a     pallium, 

51 

Synagogue   models    followed    by 

Early  Christians,  13 
Synod  of  Dublin,  169 
Fife,  210 


Tabard,  256 

Talith,  14 

Talmud  quoted,  10 

Temple  worship,  13 

Teraphim,  9 

Tertullian  quoted,  114 

Theodore,  Archbishop  of  Laurea- 

cus,  51 
Theodoret  quoted,  17,  18 
Thomas   of    Canterbury,    St,   his 

chasuble,  86 
Tiara,  112 

papal,  119,  121 

Tippet,  254,  255 
Toga,  42,  45,  48 

university,  254 

Toledo,  Council  of.     See  Council 
Transitional  period  of  vestments, 

chap,  ii 
Trebellius  Pollio  quoted,  29 
Treves,   Pope  bears  pastoral  staff 

in,  132 
Tunic  of  linen,  4,  30 

of  blue,  6 

monastic,  235 

Tunica  Alba.     See  Alba 

Dalmatica.     See  Dalmatica 

Manicata,  32 

Tunicle,  64 

description  of,  132 

by  whom  worn,  132,  214 

ornamentation  of,  133,  153 

illegal    in    English    church, 

201 

University  costume,  253 

Urban   V.  adds  crown   to   tiara, 


Vakass,  176,  188 

Valerian  quoted,  30 

Value  of  vestments,  164 

Vartabeds,  insignia  of,  1S9 

Velum,  245 

quadrigesimale,  228 

Verona,  Bishops  of,  their  privi- 
leges, 102 

Vestimentum  parvolum  in  Gallican 
church,  29,  135 

Vesting,  order  of,  217,  231 

Vienne,  Bishop  of,  rebuked, 
26 


270 


Index, 


Vigilius,  grant  of  a  pallium  by, 

51 
Virgilius,   Archbishop    of   Aries, 

51 
Vopiscus,  Flavius,  quoted,  38 


Walafrid     Strabo     quoted, 
81 


62. 


Waldenses,  vestments  among,  206 

Zando,  177,  182 

Zwj/j;,  176,  186,  191,  234 

Zosimio,    Procurator     of    Syria, 

30 
Zunnara,  190 
Zunro,  177,  186 


THE    END. 


Elliot  Stock.  Paternoster  R 01V.  London. 


ERRATA. 

Page  47,  line  2,  for  maniple  read  mappula. 
Page  61,  line  2,  for  Walfrid  read  Walafrid. 
Page  74,  line  i  of  footnote,  yijr  Goodrich  r^a^  Goodrick. 
Page  ^T,  line  3  of  footnote, /(jrWhittlesford  read  Milton. 
Page  106,  last  line,  y^r  succinctorium  read  subcingulum  (also  called 
succinctorium '). 
Page  1 10, 


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